Police told to solve rector's murder in Aceh
<p>Police told to solve rector's murder in Aceh</p><p> JAKARTA (JP): The assassination of the rector of Syiah Kuala
University, Dayan Dawood, was strongly condemned on Friday.</p><p>The Indonesian Rectors Forum, Syiah Kuala University and the
American Embassy demanded that the police seriously work to
uncover the crime and not to let the case disappear into thin air
the way they have done with numerous other crimes in Aceh.</p><p>The 54-year-old professor was shot dead in his car by two
unidentified men riding a motorbike near the university campus on
Thursday.</p><p>"The murder was a barbaric act and we want to see the
authorities catch the assassins and then take them to court,"
said Eko Budihardjo, honorary chief of the Rectors Forum in
Semarang, Central Java.</p><p>Dawood is a member of the forum, which had planned to become
involved in efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict
in Aceh.</p><p>Eko questioned the police's seriousness in dealing with
politically motivated murders in Aceh. "None of the numerous
cases have been brought to light," he said.</p><p>The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatist rebels and the
military have been engaged in a blaming game over Dawood's
murder. GAM immediately blamed it on the military. But
Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono said here on Friday that it was the work of GAM
rebels.</p><p>GAM's objective, according to Susilo, is to sabotage the
government's will to settle the conflict peacefully.</p><p>"The late Dayan Dawood was known as a moderate figure who
tried to promote a peaceful solution in the troubled province of
Aceh. Unlike GAM, Dawood welcomed the autonomy that central
government had given Aceh," he said.</p><p>The U.S. Embassy in Jakarta said in a statement it was shocked
and deeply saddened to learn of the tragic murder of the rector.</p><p>"This indeed is a tragedy... We urge the Indonesian Government
to pursue and bring to justice the perpetrators of this senseless
crime. We call on all the people of Aceh to eschew violence and
to pursue the path of peace," the statement said.</p><p>The demand for a thorough investigation also came from Syiah
Kuala University in Banda Aceh.</p><p>The University's Students Consultative Assembly also demanded
an investigation into the killing of other Aceh figures, such as
Safwan Idris, the rector of the State Institute of Islamic
Studies last year.</p><p>Assembly chairman Masri Gandara M. said in a statement that he
read out in front of 3,000 students that the killing of academics
was part of the tactics to make the people of Aceh uneducated,
Antara reported.</p><p>Syiah Kuala University closed for three days as of Friday and
flags are flying at half-mast in mourning of the rector's death.
Students at Syiah Kuala University held a mass prayer for Dawood
before he was buried at his home village of Lhoknga, Aceh Besar
regency.</p><p>Hasanuddin Yusuf Adan, secretary of the Aceh Islamic
Propagation Council, said that Dawood's murder and many previous
similar incidents showed that security authorities in Aceh had
failed to do their job.</p><p>He said the murders gave credence to the claim that Aceh was
not a safe place because the system did not work.</p><p>Hasanuddin suspected that Dawood's assassination was part of
efforts being carried out to set the people of Aceh one against
the other.</p><p>He pointed out that Jakarta's inaction to solve the various
unexplained murders has allowed unrest in Aceh, resulting in
people carrying out killing sprees without fear of being caught.</p><p>"The continuing murders in Aceh and the inaction of the
central government to stop them can only mean that Jakarta no
longer wants Aceh to be one of its provinces," Hasanuddin said.
(pan/tso)</p>
University, Dayan Dawood, was strongly condemned on Friday.</p><p>The Indonesian Rectors Forum, Syiah Kuala University and the
American Embassy demanded that the police seriously work to
uncover the crime and not to let the case disappear into thin air
the way they have done with numerous other crimes in Aceh.</p><p>The 54-year-old professor was shot dead in his car by two
unidentified men riding a motorbike near the university campus on
Thursday.</p><p>"The murder was a barbaric act and we want to see the
authorities catch the assassins and then take them to court,"
said Eko Budihardjo, honorary chief of the Rectors Forum in
Semarang, Central Java.</p><p>Dawood is a member of the forum, which had planned to become
involved in efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict
in Aceh.</p><p>Eko questioned the police's seriousness in dealing with
politically motivated murders in Aceh. "None of the numerous
cases have been brought to light," he said.</p><p>The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatist rebels and the
military have been engaged in a blaming game over Dawood's
murder. GAM immediately blamed it on the military. But
Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono said here on Friday that it was the work of GAM
rebels.</p><p>GAM's objective, according to Susilo, is to sabotage the
government's will to settle the conflict peacefully.</p><p>"The late Dayan Dawood was known as a moderate figure who
tried to promote a peaceful solution in the troubled province of
Aceh. Unlike GAM, Dawood welcomed the autonomy that central
government had given Aceh," he said.</p><p>The U.S. Embassy in Jakarta said in a statement it was shocked
and deeply saddened to learn of the tragic murder of the rector.</p><p>"This indeed is a tragedy... We urge the Indonesian Government
to pursue and bring to justice the perpetrators of this senseless
crime. We call on all the people of Aceh to eschew violence and
to pursue the path of peace," the statement said.</p><p>The demand for a thorough investigation also came from Syiah
Kuala University in Banda Aceh.</p><p>The University's Students Consultative Assembly also demanded
an investigation into the killing of other Aceh figures, such as
Safwan Idris, the rector of the State Institute of Islamic
Studies last year.</p><p>Assembly chairman Masri Gandara M. said in a statement that he
read out in front of 3,000 students that the killing of academics
was part of the tactics to make the people of Aceh uneducated,
Antara reported.</p><p>Syiah Kuala University closed for three days as of Friday and
flags are flying at half-mast in mourning of the rector's death.
Students at Syiah Kuala University held a mass prayer for Dawood
before he was buried at his home village of Lhoknga, Aceh Besar
regency.</p><p>Hasanuddin Yusuf Adan, secretary of the Aceh Islamic
Propagation Council, said that Dawood's murder and many previous
similar incidents showed that security authorities in Aceh had
failed to do their job.</p><p>He said the murders gave credence to the claim that Aceh was
not a safe place because the system did not work.</p><p>Hasanuddin suspected that Dawood's assassination was part of
efforts being carried out to set the people of Aceh one against
the other.</p><p>He pointed out that Jakarta's inaction to solve the various
unexplained murders has allowed unrest in Aceh, resulting in
people carrying out killing sprees without fear of being caught.</p><p>"The continuing murders in Aceh and the inaction of the
central government to stop them can only mean that Jakarta no
longer wants Aceh to be one of its provinces," Hasanuddin said.
(pan/tso)</p>