Muslim preachers told to support Aceh war

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Governor Sutiyoso told Muslim preachers on Tuesday not to use mosques as a forum to rally people against the military operation now taking place in Aceh province.

"We ask Muslim preachers to avoid provoking people, as this could spread hatred against others," Achyat M. Awe, an administration spokesman, quoted Sutiyoso as saying after a consultative meeting with mosque leaders in Jakarta.

Achyat said the governor had learned that many Muslim preachers were speaking out against the military operation in Aceh during Friday prayers.

According to the spokesman, Sutiyoso said he prayed at a mosque in West Jakarta with Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Makbul Padmanagara and the preacher there attacked the Aceh military operation.

The government declared martial law in Aceh last month to fight the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). However, criticism of the military has grown along with the number of civilian casualties.

Meanwhile, Sutiyoso has ordered public order officers to tighten security in the city, including launching raids targeting suspected GAM members hiding in Jakarta.

In cooperation with the police, the Sutiyoso administration also plans to launch operations aimed at rounding up new arrivals to the city, particularly Acehnese, who do not have identity cards.

The raids would allow the Jakarta security authorities to fingerprint the newcomers.

During the meeting on Tuesday with the mosque leaders, the governor also reportedly urged Muslims not to build new mosques in the city, which is already home to at least 2,766 mosques and more than 5,000 musholla (small Islamic houses of worship).

Achyat said Muslims should enlarge or renovate existing mosques rather than build new ones, adding that the city administration would not issue permits for the construction of mosques in prohibited areas like greenbelts.