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that some 1,200 Joint Military-Police Crack Riot Troops deployed in Aceh from outside the province since May would be withdrawn from rural and settlement areas.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)