Wed, 10 May 2000

Acehnese to hold mass prayer ahead of peace accord

BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): Classes will be suspended across strife-torn Aceh on Friday while students and teachers gather together for mass prayers ahead of the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Geneva.

The head of the province's Ministry of National Education office, A. Malik Raden, and Aceh's education office chief, Syahbuddin AR, on Tuesday instructed the teachers to organize prays for the students following a similar call from Governor Syamsuddin Mahmud.

"The prayers will be held on May 12, from 8 a.m to 10 a.m. in each school," Syahbuddin said, adding that the prayers specifically appeal for safety and order in Aceh.

"We hope all people, including teachers and administration staff, will join in and pray together as we are tired of violence. We really wish the peace accord will stop the conflict here," he said.

The memorandum, called the humanitarian pause, will be inked by Indonesia's permanent representative to the United Nations Hassan Wirayuda and Zaini Abdillah on behalf of GAM on Friday.

Minister of Defense and Security Juwono Sudarsono asserted that the Geneva meeting would be the best step to end the protracted bloodshed in restive Aceh.

"The meeting must not be interpreted as Indonesia recognizing GAM. It must be seen as steps toward a reconciliation which ensures GAM remains with Indonesia," Juwono said after speaking at the Strategic Forum at the Army Staff and Command School in Bandung.

Geneva was chosen by President Abdurrahman Wahid and foreign minister Alwi Shihab for certain tactical reasons, Juwono said without elaborating.

"We have acknowledged since a long time ago that there are armed groups who are against the government of Indonesia in Aceh. But that doesn't mean a free Aceh state is legitimate," Juwono said.

Violence continued to rock Aceh ahead of the Geneva accord. In Aceh Besar, 35 houses were torched by unidentified gunmen late on Monday. No fatalities were reported.

The house of Tengku Syamaun Risyad, the chief organizer of Aceh People's Congress (KRA), in Lhokseumawe was also burned down by an armed gang on Monday night.

From Monday to Tuesday, police also reported that four people were shot dead in North Aceh and the provincial capital of Banda Aceh.

Separately, visiting National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) chairman Djoko Soegianto announced he would set up a new team to investigate human rights abuses in the province. A similar inquiry is being conducted into alleged rights violations in East Timor and Tanjung Priok in North Jakarta.

The joint military-civilian tribunal heard on Tuesday the testimony of 13 defendants, all soldiers, who said they executed Tengku Bantaqiah and his disciples "under their superior's order".

One of the defendants, Lt. Tri Joko Adiwiyono, said he tried to question the order to shoot the students in a field near Babul Mukaromah boarding school, but was slapped by his commander, Lt. Col. Sudjono, who has been missing since December.

"He might have shot me had I defied the order," Joko testified.

Earlier on Monday, 12 defendants, including 11 soldiers and a civilian named Thaleb Aman Suar, gave the same account in front of a panel of judges presided over by Ruslan Dahlan. (25/50/edt/sur)