EU parliament condemns military crackdown in Aceh

EU parliament condemns military crackdown in Aceh

Agencies, Strasbourg/Banda Aceh

The European Parliament condemned on Thursday an extension of
martial law in the restive province of Aceh and called on Jakarta
to revive peace talks with separatist rebels.

In a joint resolution, members of the European Union assembly
also urged the rebel Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to lay down its
arms and "pursue its cause through the democratic process".

Members said they were "deeply concerned at the extension of
martial law and military operations in Aceh and the ongoing
violence, including armed skirmishes, kidnappings, killings and
other acts of violence".

They called on the Indonesian government "to stop the
offensive and resume talks with the Free Aceh Movement and to
fully involve civil society -- and in particular Acehnese women
-- in the dialog and peace process".

Indonesia pulled out of a cease-fire on May 19 with the GAM,
imposed martial law and sent 40,000 troops and police to wipe out
the guerrillas in the natural resource-rich province.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri extended the military
emergency status until next May, despite protests from human
rights groups and religious leaders and concerns of foreign donor
nations -- the United States, Japan and the European Union.

Indonesia reacted angrily to the international donors'
statement on Aceh, saying it was "regrettable and was tantamount
to interference in domestic affairs".

The government said the extension of martial law was based on
thorough considerations, given its efforts in "restoring and
preserving state sovereignty ... and restoring a sense of
security" mainly among the local population.

Economic restoration has been added to the integrated
operation, which incorporated a military offensive, humanitarian
mission, empowerment of the regional administration and law
enforcement during the first six months of martial law.

In Aceh, a group of unidentified armed men held an engineer
who works for the PT Arun NGL Co. natural gas producer in
Lhokseumawe hostage for a Rp 60 million (US$7,058) ransom, a
military officer said on Friday.

Spokesman for the military operation in Aceh Lt. Col. Ahmad
Yani Basuki said Bambang Budi Santoso, 45, was abducted on
Thursday afternoon when he was driving home. The incident took
place near a crowded market where people were buying food for
breaking of the fast.

Yani accused GAM of responsibility, but no GAM official could
be reached for comment.

The gas company's media relations officer, Iswandar, said the
state firms' management was working with the TNI to discover the
whereabouts of Bambang.

Also in the day TNI troops were involved in sporadic gunfights
with the rebels. The military seized an M-16 automatic rifle and
hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

Separately, the government announced a plan to move 140 GAM
members who were sentenced to over three years in prison to a
maximum security prison on Nusakambangan island near the Central
Java town of Cilacap.

Head of the provincial justice and human rights office Teuku
Darwin said on Friday by sending the former rebels far away from
Aceh, the government could cut their communication link with
fellow GAM members who remain on the run.

Darwin said prisons in Aceh were overcrowded and could no
longer accommodate rebels who had either been convicted or were
being detained.

Apart from Nusakambangan, the former rebels will serve their
prison sentence in the Central Java towns of Cirebon and
Pekalongan.

The court has convicted 462 rebels since the inception of the
martial law on May 19.