SIRA chief sentenced to 10 months in jail
SIRA chief sentenced to 10 months in jail
BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): The Banda Aceh Court sentenced Central
Information for Aceh Referendum (SIRA) chief Muhammad Nazar on
Wednesday to 10 months in prison for displaying hostile
intentions toward the state.
The 27-year-old defendant was found guilty of inciting
hostility against the state.
Presiding judge Farida Hanoem said in the verdict that "Nazar
has used the court as a platform to convey his political
ideology, by stating phrases such as 'the nation of Aceh' and
'Indonesian neo-colonialist'".
Nazar's continued use of court proceedings to express his
political beliefs certainly had not helped him, the judge said.
Prosecutors had earlier demanded a one-year jail term be
imposed.
Nazar was arrested on Nov. 20, 2000 after he organized a mass
rally in August last year, demanding a referendum for the
determination of Aceh's independence.
He is charged under Articles 154 and 155 of the Criminal Code
for showing hostile intentions/treason against the state.
Nazar told the session, which took place under heavy security,
that he would appeal, charging that the trial was "an extension
of Indonesia's colonialism".
Meanwhile, hundreds of SIRA activists continued their protest
on Wednesday by staying overnight in front of the Netherlands
Embassy on Jl. HR Rasuna Said, Kuningan in South Jakarta, Antara
reported.
The group sang, held prayers and also made speeches demanding
that the Dutch government sponsor a self-determination ballot in
Aceh, Jakarta's SIRA coordinator Faisal Saifudin said.
Back in Aceh, Brig. Zulkarnaen of the Baiturrahman police
subprecinct was shot dead by two men when he was approximately
300 meters away from his office at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Aceh
Besar Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Sayed Husaini said.
In East Aceh, an unidentified man was gunned down on Tuesday
when he tried to flee a police operation near a police station in
Peureulak subdistrict, spokesman for the Cinta Meunasah II
Operation Adj. Sr. Comr. Sad Harunantyo said.
Another rebel was shot and killed on Tuesday in Banda Aceh for
resisting arrest, the officer said.
"Late on Tuesday, at around 10 p.m., armed rebels also
detonated bombs at Bandar District office in Central Aceh before
fleeing to Blang Pulo village where they burned down 15 houses,
killing two locals," he said.
The police also claimed that the Free Aceh Movement (GAM)
rebels had been involved in extortion and conducted a series of
vehicle hijackings, with recent incidents occurring in South Aceh
and West Aceh on Tuesday.
The situation in North Aceh and the Bireun regency, however,
was relatively calm after both areas were declared security
zones.
Separately, House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung
said on Wednesday that the House had approved political support
for policies taken by the government in an effort to solve
problems in Aceh.
Akbar, however, noted that the government must periodically
deliver a report to the House over every policy implemented in
the province. (edt/02)