Call made for foreign observers in Aceh

Call made for foreign observers in Aceh

JAKARTA (JP): Chairman of Aceh's official elections committee,
Ahmad Farhan Hamid, said the committee hopes international
election observers include North Aceh and other volatile regions
of the province in their monitoring schedule.

Antara quoted him on Wednesday as saying that he hoped the
teams of the U.S. National Democratic Institute - Carter Center
could send more volunteers to enable them to monitor the areas.

Meanwhile, Todung Mulya Lubis, coordinator of private poll
watch body the University Network for Free and Fair Elections
(Unfrel), told The Jakarta Post in Ujungpandang that Aceh was one
of the most dangerous areas for volunteers, citing intimidation
of members of his organization in Aceh, Central Java and East
Java.

"The most risky areas are East Aceh, North Aceh and Pidie,"
Todung said on Wednesday. Unfrel volunteers, who are among those
monitoring campaigns ahead of the June 7 polls, are often accused
of being spies, rebels or referendum supporters in Aceh, he
explained.

The capital, Banda Aceh, is on the itinerary of the NDI-Carter
Center but it is not yet clear if regions will be included. The
case is similar with the Asian Network for Free and Fair
Elections (Anfrel) and the Australian Council for Overseas Aid
(Acfoa). The NDI-Carter Center will have two volunteers in Aceh,
Acfoa two, and Anfrel three.

NDI-Carter Center leader Jimmy Carter was scheduled on
Wednesday to observe campaigning in Bali.

Ahmad Farhan said that since there would only be few foreign
volunteers they would be confined to Banda Aceh and surrounding
areas.

"We hope the institutions can add volunteers so they can
monitor the polls in North Aceh, where there will be a special
election," he said, referring to the rule that in volatile areas
voters can register on the day of the polls by showing some form
of identity. The rule was intended to reduce people's fears of
intimidation during registration for the polls. Aceh has seen
calls to boycott the elections and have a referendum instead, to
determine whether Acehnese, many of them victims of a 10-year
military operation, still want to remain part of Indonesia.

Ahmad Farhan said international observers are needed in North
Aceh and other areas where the rule exposes opportunities for
cheating. Poll watchers registered in Aceh are the local chapters
of Unfrel, the Rector's Forum, the Independent Election
Monitoring Committee (KIPP) and the Aceh Forum of Non-
Governmental Organizations.

Recognition of poll monitoring volunteers is new to the
elections law.

Unfrel's coordinator in South Sulawesi, M. Darwis, said that
to anticipate untoward incidents, the network had informed all
related parties of their presence. Approaches to informal public
figures have proved to be effective for securing volunteers'
safety, he said.

From Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, Antara reported that a
poll watch network there considers five of 11 regions to be most
vulnerable to cheating.

"We have prepared 3,783 volunteers from various universities
to monitor the five regions," Afdian Rahmanata, press officer of
the JPTPP poll watch body, said.

The five areas were Banjarmasin town, and the regencies of
Barito Kuala, Tabalong, Tanah Laut and Hulusungai Utara.

For instance, in a village in Barito Kuala, the network has
received reports of village and district officials forbidding
residents installing materials supporting certain parties.

Three observers from Anfrel and two from the NDI-Carter Center
are scheduled to monitor the polls in South Kalimantan.

In Bandung, West Java, some 200 supporters of the Indonesian
Democratic Union Party (PUDI) demonstrated at the office of the
Pikiran Rakyat daily, in protest of a Tuesday report that the
party had used the help of a "service center for the gathering of
party campaign supporters" during its rally in Cianjur, West
Java. Chief editor A.M. Ruslan pledged to check the front page
report. PUDI supporters demanded a statement of apology for seven
subsequent days.

Also on Wednesday, Golkar supporters in Bandung were seen
carrying arms, but chapter chairman Warso denied knowledge of his
armed supporters.

From Medan, North Sumatra, KIPP reported that supporters of
one party also were carrying sharp weapons during a distribution
of basic needs in front of the Golkar office. (27/43/anr)