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Indonesia: Aceh Demonstrators Want Independence
by Kazi Mahmood
JAKARTA (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Indonesia’s restive province of Aceh witnessed one of the largest pro-independence rallies in a year with half a million people converging on Bandah Aceh, the capital city, on Saturday.
The rally ended in peace but raised fears among Jakarta-based political leaders that it might trigger a drive towards the disintegration of the Indonesian Republic.
Rally-goers came from all corners of Aceh, joining in to show their support for peace and independence of the oil rich province. Members of the Information Center for Aceh Referendum (SIRA) delivered speeches to the crowd gathered at the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque.
No violence was reported and no single policeman or security officer was seen guarding the gathering. The attendants of the mass gathering also handled the traffic and parking around the venue.
Indonesian police in Aceh wanted to prevent the rally but were denied any interference by President Abdurrahman Wahid. The president showed his anger and discontent towards army and police forces in Aceh by stating that the killing of people in Aceh “who has the same religion like me, should be stopped.”
He said any violence could ruin the truce between the government and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM), which took effect in June and has been extended until January.
"I will not let Acehnese...be shot," Wahid said.
Cut Nur Asikin, a SIRA official, ensured that the rally would be a peaceful one. She said her life was on the line and appealed to the crowd not to disrupt the rally.
"Please don't do any rebellious actions. I have made a deal with the Aceh Besar police that my life is at stake. If you do anything leading to disorder, I'll be finished," Nur Asikin said. "Don't break our agreement with the police."
She said a meeting with Aceh Besar police chief Superintendent Said Husain had been made before the gathering.
Organizers had previously planned to use the rally as a forum for a call for a referendum, but a strong response from the central government apparently changed the organizing committee's plan.
Coordinating Minister for Politics, Social and Security Affairs General (ret) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Friday that firm actions would be taken to prevent the rally from turning into a call for a referendum or independence.
Many of Saturday's rally participants gathered on trucks, buses and other vehicles, yelled “merdeka” (freedom) in response to Asikin’s speech, while others stretched a large white banner with word “Referendum” painted in blue.
There were no Indonesian Red and White or Aceh Independence Movement (GAM) flags waved in the gathering, although some waved a United Nations flag.
The organizers, however, criticized police who attempted to prevent Acehnese from participating in the rally. They said police raised blockades and carried out intensive police checks in an attempt to scare people from other regions in attending the rally.
Those who failed to join the rally just stayed at home or gathered at local mosques for saying prayers.
"Such situation started four days ago after police officers blocked all access to Banda Aceh prior to the mass gathering," a local said
Reports also say that police did not relinquish attacks against young Acehnese in the province, killing 32 people in separate incidents. The organizers said these were parts of attempts by police to prevent people from attending the rally, which turned out successful despite police tactics.
Police, in response to criticism, defended their claim that only 14 people were killed over the past few days.
Coordinator of SIRA's consulate in Cairo, Egypt, Munawar Zain, said on Saturday that the police and military had killed a total of 200 people since Wednesday, with another 210 injured.
Jakarta's SIRA coordinator, Faisal Saifuddin, told a press meeting that all Indonesian military and police troops must be pulled out from Aceh, "or, we the whole people of Aceh, will remain in peaceful resistance against the invader."
"Independence with enactment of Islamic laws in Aceh State is a fixed price," Munawir added. "Aceh must be an independent Islamic state without Indonesian interference."
Megawati Sukarnoputeri, the Indonesian Vice President, expressed fears that such rallies could spark independence drives within other regencies or provinces, which have staked claims for freedom since the reform government took over in 1999.
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