Trial of SIRA Chief to be held in Banda Aceh next week

Trial of SIRA Chief to be held in Banda Aceh next week

BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): The government has bowed to demands to
try Muhammad Nazar, the chief of the Aceh Referendum Information
Center (SIRA), in Banda Aceh.

A local judge Farida Hanoum said on Tuesday the district court
here was expected to try Nazar either on Wednesday or Thursday
next week after the Idul Adha Islamic Day of Sacrifice.

Farida said there is a possibility of sending judges from
Medan in the neighboring province of North Sumatra for the trial,
as she was the only available judge here.

The new Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Baharuddin Lopa
issued a decree No. M.05.AT.01.10/2001 stipulating the relocation
of Nazar's trial to Banda Aceh after the defendant failed to
appear in the opening session on Feb. 21 in Medan. Lopa's
predecessor Yusril Ihza Mahendra had ordered the trial be held in
Medan for security concerns.

Nazar welcomed the government's gesture.

"I'm glad that my trial will be held in Aceh. I and my lawyers
appreciate the government for its move," Nazar said.

Nazar is charged with showing hostile intentions/treason
against the state, a crime which carries a maximum sentence of
seven years in jail, for organizing a mass congress to demand a
referendum in Banda Aceh last November. He has been detained
since Nov. 20 last year.

Aceh governor Abdullah Puteh complained about the lack of
judges as a result of security problems plaguing his territory.

"Local judges are too afraid to perform their duties, while at
the same time we cannot force the central government to send
judges here," Abdullah said on Tuesday.

The lack of judges has left more than 90 percent of cases in
Aceh unsettled.

Meanwhile, five women who stated they were raped by security
officers in South Aceh early this month filed their case with
Aceh's National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM).

Separately, North Aceh Police Adj. Sr. Comr. Wanto Sumardi
said on Tuesday that police had identified three bodies recovered
in Lhokseumawe on Monday as residents of Bireun regency who had
gone missing, following a security sweeping in the area a few
hours earlier.

In Jambi province, Antara reported that some 100 Sabhara riot
police troops are undergoing jungle survival training before
joining the second phase of security operation code-named Cinta
Meunasah in Aceh.

Jambi Police chief Brig. Gen. Zamris Anwar said the training
was held at Dusun Tua forest in Muara Tebo regency, about 320
kilometers away from Jambi. He said the location resembles Aceh
in geographical terms.

The troops are also trained to locate and quell armed groups,
Zamris said.

The North Aceh-based oil joint-venture ExxonMobil Oil
Indonesia (EMOI) denied on Tuesday accusations by GAM that the
company was providing a base for the Indonesian military.

EMOI spokesperson Julia Tumengkol said it was the government
that made the decision regarding the level of protection required
to adequately secure all strategic assets, including the
facilities operated by the company.

"EMOI does not control or direct the activities of these
military personnel," Julia said.

The company also offered condolences to the family of 15-year-
old Sukirman, who died in a GAM attack on military troops posted
in the company's compound on Saturday. (edt/50)