Many balk at working the polls in Aceh

Many balk at working the polls in Aceh

JAKARTA (JP): Escalating intimidation by groups of people
seeking to boycott the June 7 general election in Aceh has forced
residents to refuse to be poll workers, a local official said on
Tuesday.

The revelation came amid growing discussions about the
possibility the elections might be delayed in several trouble
spots including Aceh, as Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Gen.
Wiranto hinted also on Tuesday.

Election authorities both in the province and in Jakarta have
been considering a poll delay in the province in response to
growing violence between the military and alleged members of the
Free Aceh separatist movement.

"At least in two regencies, Pidie and North Aceh, people have
been refusing to become poll workers," head of Aceh Elections
Committee Ahmad Farhan Hamid told The Jakarta Post from the
provincial capital of Banda Aceh by phone.

Calls for a referendum on self-determination and an election
boycott have been the strongest in Pidie, North Aceh and East
Aceh.

The regencies of Pidie, North Aceh and East Aceh had been the
worst affected by a decade of anti-rebel operations during which
the military was accused of widespread human rights abuses.

At least 15 people, including 11 military and police
personnel, were killed in two separate outbreaks of violence in
North Aceh and West Aceh in the past week.

Ahmad said there would be about 700 and 1,500 polling stations
in Pidie and North Aceh respectively where at least seven people
were needed for each station.

"Just imagine how many people we have to recruit. We have
never faced anything like this before," Ahmad said.

He said the local elections committee would meet with 38
political parties campaigning in the two regencies later in the
week to discuss the matter.

Reports said political parties have skipped campaigning in the
province for fear of attack against their activists.

At least three cars belonging to political parties and an
office of the ruling Golkar party in the North Aceh capital of
Lhokseumawe had been attacked and set on fire.

Separately, Wiranto told reporters in the TNI headquarters in
Cilangkap, East Java, that polling was due to go ahead on the
scheduled date across the whole country.

"But for several regions, and not only in Aceh, if from a
security viewpoint holding a free and fair election is
(dangerous), then the elections could be delayed for some time,
up to one month," he said.

Wiranto said a delay might be needed in only three of the 12
regencies in the province.

Wiranto's statement was different from his remarks on Monday
that the election would proceed as cheduled in Aceh.

Hasballah M. Saad, deputy chairman of the National Elections
Commission, said the decision on whether the polls will be
delayed in Aceh would be made on June 6.

"If on June 6 the situation is still worrisome and the people
do not feel safe to vote we will decide to delay the vote," he
said on the private SCTV television.

"The election commission deems it unethical to conduct a vote
when the people are threatened," he said.

Commenting on separatist calls in Aceh, Wiranto said they had
been made by the Free Aceh movement.

"But we are in the basin of the republic and no one in the
republic has the right to declare independence from the country
they love," Wiranto said.

He pledged stern action against separatists, whom he charged
had attacked government institutions and destroyed buildings
where voting would take place.

"So, we must make sure their efforts to disturb the process of
elections will not be tolerated... to ensure that the poll will
go on in Aceh and everywhere else," he added.

Wiranto also defended the military decision to send more anti-
riot troops to Aceh ahead of the elections.

"Don't think the addition of troops to any province
constitutes an abuse by the military or the police, it is merely
obeying a call of duty to ensure safety in that region for the
people's interest," he added.

Students and rights activists have been demanding the military
pull out from Aceh. They said the military presence in the
province has only created a climate of fear.

Meanwhile, Antara reported from Banda Aceh capital city that
dozens of students staged a demonstration outside Governor
Syamsuddin Mahmud's office expressing their rejection of the
poll.

To the governor, the students said the elections should not be
held because of the worsening security condition in the province.
Before dispersing peacefully, the students also demanded the
military pull out from Aceh. (byg/rms)