Many Acehnese voters stay away from voting process
LHOKSEUMAWE, Aceh (JP): Calls for an election boycott in the troubled province of Aceh were realized on Monday, as the gas- rich city turned into a ghost town.
Streets were completely deserted amid widespread rumors of fresh violence in the North Aceh capital.
A convoy of troops comprising 20 motorcycles and an armored vehicle with two loudspeakers mounted on it were seen patrolling the city urging residents to vote. A military helicopter hovered over the city.
Small groups of women began arriving at the main polling place at General Soedirman square, located in front of local military headquarters, at about 8:30 a.m.
Voting started 30 minutes later and local officials said the polling place was scheduled to be closed at 11:30 a.m, hours earlier than the original 2 p.m. scheduled time.
"Most of us are soldiers' wives, and we live in the nearby military barrack," Kasinah, 36, told The Jakarta Post, just before entering one of the polling booths.
Low turnouts were widely anticipated, as separatist sentiment has been on the rise in Pidie, North Aceh and East Aceh.
Many Acehnese have expressed skepticism that the elections would bring them any change, saying the polls were only for "the people in Jakarta".
"We are tired of promises, we actually do not want to separate Aceh from Indonesia, we just want justice and to bring those killers to trial," Iskandar, a taxi driver, said.
Pidie, North Aceh and East Aceh are the regencies worst affected by a decade of anti-rebel operations, during which the military was accused of perpetrating widespread human rights abuses. More than 1,000 were killed during the operations, and thousands of others suffered during the military operations.
"Nobody else from our village in Hagu Tengah is coming to the polling place here, except us," said Irma, a junior high school teacher who came with a friend to the city's second polling place at Iraq square.
Cancellation
Earlier in the day, the local elections committee said the elections would only be held in 11 out of 26 districts in North Aceh for security reasons.
The districts were Banda Sakti, Muara Dua, Dewantara, Muara Batu, Gandapura, Makmur, Jeumpa, Peusangan, Peudada, Jeunieb, and Samalanga.
Voting, however, was canceled in at least Peudada and Samalanga, about 70 kilometers and 100 kilometers west of here respectively. District offices in these two areas were set on fire by unidentified people early Monday.
The two districts are now sheltering thousands of refugees who fled their villages on Sunday fearing a military crackdown.
Smoke was still seen smoldering from the ruins of the buildings on Monday afternoon. Locals said the buildings were set on fire because they were going to be used as polling places.
The main road connecting the provincial capital of Banda Aceh and the North Sumatra capital of Medan was completely deserted on Monday following the attacks on four intercity buses near the border between North Aceh and Pidie, some 120 kilometers south of here, early Saturday.
The Indonesian Military (TNI) said members of the Free Aceh separatist movement (GAM) were behind the attacks. The military has also accused the group of intimidating residents to boycott the elections in the province. The accusations were flatly denied by GAM leaders.
Military Police Commander Lt. Col. Musmarsun said three officers of the Lilawangsa Military Command and one civilian had been arrested in connection with the attacks on the district offices. The civilian was identified as the son of the TNI faction chief at the local legislative body.
In Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh, chairman of the provincial elections committee Farhan Hamid told Antara the polls in the unrest-prone districts of Pidie and North Aceh would be held in stages to provide an opportunity to as many residents as possible to vote there.
According to the election law, polls can be delayed up to 30 days after the original schedule. (48/49/byg)