More violence in Aceh as DPR debates autonomy bill
More violence in Aceh as DPR debates autonomy bill
JAKARTA (JP): The government and the House of Representatives
responded to demands for justice by Acehnese by launching on
Thursday the reading of a bill that would accord the troubled
province special treatment and autonomy.
"With the document ... the Acehnese will be able to enjoy the
benefit of the special status," Coordinating Minister for
Political Affairs and Security Feisal Tanjung said.
Minister of Home Affairs Syarwan Hamid said he believed the
bill would satisfy Acehnese demands, as the bill stipulated
special consideration for the province in cultural, educational
and religious terms.
Syarwan, who served in the early 1990s as an Aceh military
commander, said the document would enable the local government to
declare Friday a public holiday rather than Sunday.
Acehnese are known for their strong adherence to an Islamic
way of life. The separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has been
fighting for an Islamic state since the 1970s.
The development took place as reports came in on Thursday that
a group of armed gunmen shot and seriously wounded on Wednesday
two members of the Elite Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob).
"The two Brimob members were among several trying to move a
tree trunk blocking the main Banda Aceh-Medan highway" in Blang
Blahdeh, North Aceh regency, Aceh police information task force
chief Lt. Col. Amrin Karim was quoted by AFP as saying.
"They were both seriously injured and have been undergoing
surgery," he said, adding that one was reported to have been hit
in the head and the other in the chest.
The tree trunk was placed on the road by alleged separatists
and their supporters to block the road, following a call by
separatists for a general strike from Aug. 14 to Aug. 20. Similar
makeshift roadblocks have appeared in many spots along the same
highway.
The shooting came on the same day as an announcement by
Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Wiranto that some 1,200
Joint Military-Police Crack Riot Troops deployed in Aceh from
outside the province since May would be withdrawn from rural and
settlement areas.
But Wiranto also threatened to declare a state of emergency in
Aceh if security conditions did not improve following the
pullout.
Munir, coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and
Victims of Violence (Kontras), said Wiranto's troop redeployment
pledge would not end the violence because other military organs
were maintained in the province.
"It is only a change of name without a significant improvement
against the repressive militaristic approach in the province,"
Munir said on Thursday.
Munir also disclosed the killing on Monday of four victims by
an unidentified group in Tanah Jamboaye district, North Aceh. He
identified the victims as Zakaria Ahmad, head of Ulee Gle
subdistrict, Abdul Wahab, Yusuf Yacob and M. Jamil.
"Eight hours before the killing they received a group of 30
men in military uniforms," Munir said.
Military observer Lt. Gen. (ret) Hasnan Habib also criticized
Wiranto's decision to reestablish the provincial Iskandar Muda
Military Command in Aceh because people demanded an enforcement
of justice and not an increased military presence.
"People demand justice and not Kodam (military command)," said
Hasnan on the sidelines of a seminar in Jakarta.
TVRI reported in its evening news that police had discovered
the body of Second Lt. Diah, head of Tanah Luas Police
subprecinct, North Aceh, who was abducted a week ago by suspected
armed rebels.
Meanwhile, Antara reported the International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC) will continue its humanitarian assistance for
some 110,000 Acehnese refugees, with especial emphasis on clean
water supplies and medical services.
Spokeswoman Sri R Wahyu Endah said the international agency
had provided medicine, an ambulance and 363 water tanks, and
employed sanitation experts to alleviate the situation of
refugees in Pidie, North Aceh and East Aceh regencies in the last
five months. (byg/prb)