'Referendum' banners rife in Aceh

'Referendum' banners rife in Aceh

BANDA ACEH, Aceh: Hundreds of banners demanding a referendum
over the province's future were visible on Friday and Saturday
throughout villages along the eastern coast of Aceh, from the
town of Pidie to the North Sumatra borderline, Antara reported on
Sunday.

Posters were also displayed at bus terminals and markets in
Lhokseumawe, the site of recent violence. Lhokseumawe is 270
kilometers east of here.

All banners and posters were written in the local dialect.

Some said "We demand a peaceful referendum, not a bloody
referendum."

Governor Syamsuddin Mahmud, who the news agency said had
traveled back and fro from Pidie, North Aceh and East Aceh over
the past week, did not comment on the demands.

Syamsuddin has suggested that a federal system would be best
to maintain the country's unity, while students have called for a
referendum to determine whether the Acehnese want a separate
state.

Antara reported that the banners and posters were put in place
following an Acehnese students congress -- organized by the
Action Coalition of Acehnese Students and Nusantara Youths-
Students Committee -- here early last month.

Torture, abduction and killings of over 800 civilians have
been only recently exposed since the military declared the
province a military operation zone in 1989. The status was lifted
last year, after which civilian and military victims have
continued to fall.