House commission recommends Aceh referendum

House commission recommends Aceh referendum

JAKARTA (JP): A special House of Representatives committee on
Aceh concluded its work on Thursday by recommending a referendum
in the restive province, but neglected to include the option of
independence.

A referendum was among the 10 recommendations to be later
brought before a plenary session of the House by the special
committee.

Committee chairman Ali Yahya said on Thursday that the
recommendations would be submitted to House leaders on Monday to
be later discussed in a plenary session.

He said among the recommendations for Aceh was special
autonomy, a nonmilitary court for human rights abusers, a
rejection of martial law and a dialog between the central
government and the people of Aceh.

While agreeing to propose the possibility of a referendum, it
left the exact purpose of the referendum up in the air and
purposely avoided mentioning independence.

Ali, a legislator from the Golkar Party, contended that the
committee was just absorbing the aspirations and desires of the
people of Aceh.

He said the recommendations from the 50-member committee, 12
of whom were Acehnese, were formulated without a vote.

There were heated debates, particularly on the question of a
referendum as some committee members wanted its inclusion in the
final recommendation to be decided by a vote.

Committee deputy chairman Tengku Syaiful Ahmad, a senior
Acehnese native, threatened to walk out of the meeting if the
committee went to vote on the matter, and in the end all agreed
for it to be included.

"If a referendum is not included in the recommendation we will
walk out," Syaiful, a National Mandate Party legislator, said
during a break in the meeting.

The committee in its work summoned top military brass, both
active and retired, whom they considered were connected with the
Aceh issue.

Among those they questioned were Coordinating Minister for
Political Affairs and Security Gen. Wiranto, National Police
chief Gen. Roesmanhadi and Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Adm.
Widodo A.S.

They questioned retired generals, such as Try Sutrisno, Feisal
Tanjung and L.B. Moerdani, on Monday.

None of the names of the generals were mentioned in the
committee's report.

Meanwhile, at least 500 students from various universities
conducted a rally in front of the House compound, demanding the
government solve Aceh's problems peacefully. (jun)