Court begins trial of SIRA activist

BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): The trial of an Acehnese independence activist charged with revolt opened at the Banda Aceh District Court on Thursday amid a tight security cordon and a silent protest.

Prosecutors read out the indictment against detained chairman of the Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA) Muhammad Nazar, who could face a sentence of up to seven years in jail if found guilty.

"The defendant encouraged people to rise against Indonesia by distributing pamphlets and banners that created hatred against the legal government," said prosecutor Supery.

Nazar was arrested on Nov. 20, 2000 after organizing a rally in the region calling for an independence referendum earlier in August.

The banners, which Nazar is accused of having distributed on Aug. 17, Indonesia's independence day, stated: "Aceh remains within the Republic of Indonesia, or Free."

He is being charged under Articles 154 and 155 of the Criminal Code for showing hostile intentions/treason against the state.

The 30-minute trial which began at 9:30 a.m. was presided over by judge Farida Hanoem, assisted by four other judges.

Nazar arrived at the court in a Kijang van from Banda Aceh State Penitentiary on Jl. Cut Meutia, which is only about 100 meters away from the court.

He was accompanied by nine lawyers led by Abdurrachman Yacoub. The session, however, was marked by a silent protest by 27 SIRA activists in front of the courtroom who dispersed themselves peacefully after the hearing was completed.

About 600 police and soldiers guarded the court with two armored vehicles parked nearby.

Barbed wires were put on the side of Jl. Cut Meutia and only about 30 people were allowed to enter the courtroom.

Judge Farida adjourned the trial until Monday to hear the lawyers' defense statement.

Meanwhile in Jakarta, SIRA issued a media statement demanding the release of Nazar.

"The trial will not resolve Aceh's problems as all conflicts are centered within Aceh, and Nazar is only one of the figures," said Jakarta SIRA's advocacy coordinator Tarmizi Nizami.

The group also urged the government to pull out all police and military personnel from Aceh and to proceed with legal action in all cases of violence in the disputed province.

Also in Jakarta, Indonesian Military (TNI) chief of general affairs Lt. Gen. Djamari Chaniago said on Thursday that the government must determine the position of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) with regard to the Indonesian legal framework.

"The first thing to do is to identify the movement as separatist. The mistake in not identifying the movement as such has led to the current situation," Djamari said.

"If we had determined its status as separatist we could clarify the status of the Aceh region, which is completely different from other regions such as Central Java, East Java or Jakarta," he said in an emotional tone.

He further said that the TNI headquarters has been preparing its troops to anticipate the worst in Aceh.

"But the TNI is waiting for the government's stance on whether or not the movement in Aceh is separatist," Djamari said.

Djamari however declined to say whether the weak security situation in Aceh was a result of the central government's policy.

The TNI reportedly has deployed about 30,000 troops in Aceh, of which two battalions are the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) troops.

Earlier in the day, Minister of Defense Mahfud M.D. told reporters before leaving for Sampit, Central Kalimantan, that the government has yet to conduct military action to quell the separatist activities in Aceh.

"The government is currently conducting two approaches -- a dialog and a legal approach -- but has yet to impose military action," Mahfud said as quoted by Satunet.com.

He said the two approaches taken during a one-month moratorium on violence from Jan. 15 to Feb. 15 were quite effective in decreasing the violence there from 259 cases to 58.

Back in Aceh, violence continued to rage as 10 bodies were found on Wednesday and Thursday.

Six unidentified male bodies were located in Aramiah village, Birem Bayeun district, East Aceh regency, at noon on Thursday.

Three more bodies were found in Seunelok village, also near Langas Town in East Aceh on Thursday, two of whom were identified as drivers named Muhammad Nur and Jamidun, said a local hospital official.

Another body was discovered in Matang Seulimeng village in East Aceh on Wednesday. (edt/50/02/01)