Military rejects proposed poll delay in Aceh
Military rejects proposed poll delay in Aceh
JAKARTA (JP): The military in Aceh dismissed concern on Friday
that insecurity may force the postponement of the June 7 general
election in the troubled western territory.
"There won't be any postponement... the elections will
proceed as scheduled," Lilawangsa Military Commander Col. Johnny
Wahab, who oversees security in Pidie, North Aceh and East Aceh,
told The Jakarta Post by phone from the North Aceh capital of
Lhokseumawe.
Johnny's area of jurisdiction has been the hotbed of security
disturbances which the military blames on the separatist Free
Aceh Movement, which has intensified its activity lately.
In Jakarta, National Military (TNI) spokesman Maj. Gen.
Syamsul Ma'arif said Friday that the army stood by its commitment
to make the elections take place on the same date in all regions.
The government has been considering an election delay in
Pidie, North Aceh and East Aceh because of the rising cases of
violence that the army has attributed to the Free Aceh movement.
Johnny said he needed more troops to secure about 900 polling
places in Pidie, North Aceh and East Aceh.
"We now have three battalions of about 1,200 riot troops.
Ideally, we need about 5,000 troops to be able to properly secure
all those polling places," he said.
When asked if he would ask Jakarta for more troops, Johnny
said: "It is not necessary, we will make the best of those
available."
TNI Commander Gen. Wiranto dispatched riot troops only a few
days after the military shootings in the North Aceh village of
Krueng Geukueh on May 3 which killed 41 civilian protesters.
The shooting prompted mounting calls in Aceh for a referendum
on self-determination and for a boycott of the elections.
Pidie, North Aceh and East Aceh are the regencies which had
been most affected by eight years of anti-rebel military
operations that were halted last year.
Resentment against the military and Jakarta has also risen
with soldiers being accused of widespread human rights abuses
during operations against secessionist rebels.
Earlier Friday, six students from Syiah Kuala University of
Banda Aceh started a hunger strike at the General Elections
Commission (KPU) in Jakarta to dramatize their rejection of the
election and their demands for referendum.
In a statement, they accused the government and military of
having "no intention whatsoever to solve the problems of Aceh".
They said they were ready to go on hunger strike until their
death for the cause.
The strikers, grouped under the Student Solidarity for the
Aceh People (SMUR), also demanded that the military stop sending
troops to Aceh under any pretext.
Refugees
Meanwhile, Antara reported that at least 10,000 people,
including 200 migrants, in the North Aceh district of Bireun have
fled their villages for fear of further violence following the
alleged separatist attack on the nearby Peudada district on
Tuesday.
According to the military's account, six people -- two
soldiers, a female doctor and her staff member, and two migrant
settlers -- were killed by separatist rebels in the attack.
The news agency quoted local officials as saying on Friday
that the residents had begun fleeing their villages on Wednesday.
Officials said that the residents were taking refuge in the
district chief office, a local community health center and also
in a number of schools in the area.
Another 800 migrants from Java have also fled their villages
in the two districts on Thursday night for fear of further
attacks and were seeking shelter in a number of government
buildings in Lhokseumawe.
Johnny also confirmed reports that doctors and paramedics in
North Aceh have threatened to abandon the area following
Tuesday's violence.
Antara also reported that two teams of observers from the
Carter Center and the National Democratic Institute will monitor
the elections in Aceh.
An official said that it was still not clear whether these
foreign observers would monitor the elections in Pidie, North
Aceh and East Aceh. (46/byg/edt/rms)