Aceh goes from military to civil emergency

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta

President Megawati Soekarnoputri changed on Tuesday the martial law status in Aceh to a state of civil emergency and named controversial Governor Abdullah Puteh as the administrator, but that has worried the country's top military man.

In her speech declaring the new status, Megawati emphasized the need for an assistance and monitoring team to support the governor so he could carry out his duties.

"The team members will come from my office as the central administrator of the state of civil emergency, who will fall under day-to-day supervision of the (ad interim) coordinating minister for political and security affairs," Megawati said.

Article 5 of the Presidential Decree No. 43/2004 on civil emergency in Aceh, which will officially be in effect from May 19, requires the governor to follow every instruction from the central government and any decision he makes must be cleared by the other local authorities, including the Aceh military commander.

Based on Law No. 23/1959, the President can appoint a person other than the governor to lead the state of civil emergency.

Under the current presidential decree, the Aceh governor has to continue with the government's integrated operation -- which began exactly a year ago -- including security restoration and law enforcement, according to Article 6 of the decree.

The new status will likely last six months and is renewable or can be terminated before the period ends provided there is a convincing development in the province.

"I hope in a short period we can end the state of civil emergency. We all expect peace to return there, so our attempts to develop Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam as part of the Unitary Republic of Indonesia will soon materialize," Megawati said.

The government also imposed a state of civil emergency in 2000 in Maluku in the wake of sectarian clashes that finally began to recede in 2002. The government lifted the emergency status in October last year.

The decision to appoint Puteh as the administrator in Aceh could spark discontent among the Acehnese, who have been demanding his resignation over an alleged role in numerous graft cases.

The martial law administrator had conducted a preliminary probe, and that will be followed up by the Attorney General's Office.

No formal investigation can be conducted when it involves a governor without the President's consent.

Earlier, the Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto expressed concern about Megawati's plan to hand Puteh the reins.

Endriartono said that giving the authority to Puteh would hurt the people's sense of justice.

"That is our main concern," he said during a hearing with House's Commission I for defense and security affairs here on Tuesday.

Endriartono said he had consulted ad interim Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Hari Sabarno and the President regarding the matter.

According to Hari, the replacement of a governor would require the recommendation of the provincial legislature, who elected Puteh four years ago.

Based on investigations by the martial law administrator, most of the provincial legislature members were allegedly involved in the financial scandals.

"Please, the House members must assess this case," he pleaded.

Puteh has reportedly been involved in at least three high- profile cases -- the price mark-up in the purchase of a Russian- made helicopter and a used printing press for the administration and the procurement of cars for 53 local councillors. The cases are being handled by the Banda Aceh prosecutor's office.

The helicopter purchase is believed to have been marked up by some Rp 6 billion (US$674,150), while Rp 4.2 billion was said to be spent on the printing press, which is not operable.

Special report -- Page 5