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)