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Trial Starts For Top Independence Activist
by Kazi Mahmood
KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 (IslamOnline) - Trying to put the bloody events in Central Kalimantan behind them, Indonesia on Thursday initiated the trial of a leading Acehnese independence activist charged with sedition.
The high profile trial started with a blunt warning by the Chief of the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad), Lt. Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu, declaring war against the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatists.
Amid tight security, Indonesian authorities, directly challenging the Achenese, are holding the trial in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh.
The man at the center of the controversial trial, Muhammad Nazar, is the chairman of a human rights group in Aceh, the Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA), a group campaigning for the independence of the province.
He is accused of having "publicly expressed enmity, hatred or insults towards the government of Indonesia," and is facing seven years in jail if convicted.
In general, the Acehnese believe the trial was ordered by President Abdurrahman Wahid himself, in order to crack down on the independence movement and to show he will not tolerate any moves for independence by any group from the state of Indonesia.
Nazar has been jail since September of last year, and has been denied bail on several occasions. His arrest caused a storm of protest in both Jakarta and Banda Aceh. Several national and international organizations claimed that Nazar's arrest was politically motivated and abused the fundamental human rights of an Indonesian citizen for self-expression.
Wahid is adamant that the trial be the swan song for the GAM and become an example of the hardline attitude he intends to adopt against all forms of secessionist movement in the country, an observer told IslamOnline.
An offer to enter Aceh and crush the GAM separatist movement by the Kostrad's Ryamizard was not made without planning, M. Abdullah said, adding that the Indonesian government had planned an offensive in Aceh but was distracted by events in central Kalimantan.
"There were signs that the Kostrad or the TNI [Armed forces of Indonesia] would have started an offensive against the GAM in remote areas of Aceh in a bid to undermine its drive for Independence." Abdullah said.
"However, the unexpected events in Kalimantan made them hold their forces and adopt the new strategy of the high profile trial and the menaces by the army to enter the region," he added.
He said accusations against Nazar are flimsy and cannot hold ground, claiming the trial is designed more to irritate the patience of the GAM and of the Acehnese people than anything else.
State prosecutor Suheri said in his opening remarks that Nazar had distributed banners with slogans demanding a referendum on independence.
The banners, which Nazar is accused of having distributed on August 17th, the country's national day, stated: "Aceh remains within the Republic of Indonesia or Freedom."
"He is being accused of encouraging people to revolt against Indonesia by distributing pamphlets that created hatred against the legal government," Abdullah told IslamOnline.
The trial, held at the Banda Aceh District Court, was tightly guarded, with hundreds of police on guard and public attendance inside the court room limited to less than 100 people.
But outside the court room, hundreds of people backing Nazar packed the main street and listened to proceedings from public speakers, reminding Abdullah of the beginning of the trial of former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in Malaysia, he recalled to IslamOnline.
In the meantime, hundreds of SIRA members staged a peaceful protest calling the trial a "political farce" and demanding the trial be halted and Nazar released.
Nazar was arrested November 20th, a few days after SIRA organized days of mass rallies involving tens of thousands of people in Banda Aceh, to help push for the referendum.
It was the second mass rally in favor of a referendum. SIRA had the previous year held a peaceful mass rally in Banda Aceh in support of a referendum involving over one million people.
Amnesty International official Lucia Withers said the trial was a throwback to the days of former dictator Suharto, who used the armed forces and courts to stamp out political opponents.
"Amnesty sees this as a serious step backward for the new regime," she said. "Nazar is a prisoner of conscience."
On the other hand, the Kostrad chief said on Wednesday that his troops were prepared to fight the GAM and not the people of Aceh.
"GAM is an enemy of the state. We must quell them all," Ryamizard said in a show of patriotism that was totally absent last week during the mayhem in Kalimantan.
Observers argued why Kostrad wanted to quell a 30-year separatist movement, while it did nothing to stop a spell of violence involving rogue elements of the Dayak tribe armed only with spears and parangs (scythe).
"The fact is my troops are always ready to leave for Aceh," Ryamizard said.
Currently, the TNI deploys some 30,000 troops in the province.
The three-star general said it was GAM and not the (Acehnese) people who rejected the presence of the Indonesian military there.
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