Three people injured in Lhokseumawe bomb blast

Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

Only a couple of days before the peace talks resume between the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), an explosion rocked Lhokseumawe on Tuesday, wounding three people, including servicemen.

First Pvt. S. Ma'arif, Second Pvt. Marsuri and a shop attendant who suffered light injuries were rushed to the Lilawangsa Military Hospital in Lhokseumawe.

Maj. Zaenal Muttaqin, spokesman for the security restoration operation in Aceh, said here on Tuesday that the homemade bomb exploded when the two servicemen, both from the 327 Infantry Battalion were shopping in a military supplies shop in the town.

Zaenal accused GAM of being behind the bomb blast. He said the bomb contained nails and glass shards and was placed in front of the shop inside a plastic bag.

"The bomb will not affect the government's plan to go ahead with the peace talks with GAM in Geneva in a few days," he said.

The town, one of GAM's strongholds in the restive province, has been rocked by many homemade bomb blasts over the last 10 months.

In a related development, six Acehnese civilians have confirmed their participation in the peace talks between the government and GAM in Geneva this week.

The six, mostly independent experts from universities and academies in the province, are Tengku Iman Suja, Muslim Ibrahim, Daniel Djuned, Isa Sulaiman, Alyasa' Abubakar and Hakim Nyak Pha.

They said they were invited by the Henry Dunant Center, which will facilitate the talks, to give objectivity about the situation in Aceh.

"We are expected to give input for a comprehensive solution to the Aceh issue and to witness the signing of a peace agreement between the two conflicting sides," said Imam Suja, also chairman of the Aceh branch of the second largest Muslim organization, Muhammdiyah.

Iman said they would urge the conflicting sides to end the conflict, which has killed thousands of innocent civilians over the last 26 years since first erupting in 1976.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people supporting the Forum for Acehnese People staged a demonstration in the city, demanding the two conflicting sides to accept the proposed cease-fire and the presence of international observers to observe the situation in the province.

"We call on the government to allow the presence of an international peace-keeping force to maintain security and order and to protect Acehnese people against being killed," Tarmizi, coordinator of the forum, said in a free speech forum the demonstrators held in front of the governor's office.