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)