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)