Two people killed, 35 injured in Aceh protest
Two people killed, 35 injured in Aceh protest
JAKARTA (JP): At least one student and a member of the Police
Mobile Brigade were killed, with 35 students injured in two
separate clashes between pro-referendum supporters and security
personnel in Aceh on Monday and Tuesday.
A local correspondent said Ahmadi, 17, a technical high school
student and First Private Sihombing were killed after police and
troops fired warning shots on Tuesday to disperse about 1,000
protesting students at North Aceh Police Headquarters in the
North Aceh capital of Lhokseumawe, some 250 kilometers east of
the provincial capital Banda Aceh.
Witnesses said Ahmadi was shot in the chest and Sihombing was
shot in the head. At least 30 more students were injured in the
incident.
According to witnesses, the students went to police
headquarters to demand the release of 24 fellow students detained
on Monday for allegedly staging a pro-referendum protest and
hoisting Free Aceh Movement flags.
Local police, however, said the 24 students were released one
hour before the protesters arrived at police headquarters.
North Aceh Police chief Lt. Col. Iskandar Hasan denied Ahmadi
and Sihombing were shot by his personnel and speculated they were
shot by "instigators".
Police said they found shells allegedly fired from Russian-
made AK-47 rifles.
Shop owners immediately closed their businesses when the
violence erupted. As of late Tuesday, the town remained tense.
North Aceh Military chief Lt. Col. Giyono said the "attack" on
police headquarters was aimed at disrupting the June 7 elections.
In a separate clash in Sigli, Pidie regency, on Monday, at
least five high school students were injured after security
personnel fired warning shots to disperse a protest against the
tearing down of street banners demanding a referendum.
M. Taufik Abda of the Aceh Students Coalition for Reforms told
a media conference at the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation here
the incident occurred in front of local military headquarters.
"The students are still being treated at the Sigli General
Hospital and three of them are suffering from bullet wounds,"
Taufik said, adding other students found live bullet shells in
and around the area.
Taufik said Yusriah binti Usman was shot in her right ankle,
Musriadi had a bullet wound in the back of his head, Kastamuna
bin Yusuf sustained a bullet wound to his forehead while the
remaining two students, Irwan and Rahmaniah, were suffering from
glass cuts to their legs.
In past months, hundreds of university and high schools
students have staged pro-referendum rallies in a number of areas
in the troubled province.
On a visit to the province in March, President B.J. Habibie
said the People's Consultative Assembly had the final say on the
referendum demand.
At that time, Habibie also apologized for human rights abuses
during the decade-long military operation to quell a separatist
movement in the province. He promised to punish any military
officers found guilty of atrocities.
He also promised to compensate victims.
Locals, however, said the government was only making empty
promises to the province.
Local government said at least 1,021 were killed, 864 were
still listed as missing and 1,376 were widowed during the period
of military operations which began in 1989.
Most of the atrocities took place in North Aceh, Pidie and
East Aceh regencies which fall under the supervision of
Lilawangsa Military Command. (byg)