DATE=11/24/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=ACEH / POLICE (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-256501
BYLINE=PATRICIA NUNAN
DATELINE=JAKARTA
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The Indonesian government is sending hundreds
of police reinforcements to the northern province of
Aceh. As Patricia NUNAN reports from Jakarta, the move
comes ahead of the anniversary of the founding of the
rebel "Free Aceh Movement" which is pushing for
independence of the province.
TEXT: Indonesian officials say at least 870 police
officers from the elite mobile brigade have already
been sent to Aceh to deal with potential unrest there.
They are being posted to reinforce some two thousand
Indonesian police regularly based in the province.
Tensions are rising in Aceh ahead of the December 4th
anniversary of the 1976 declaration of independence by
the "Free Aceh Movement." The guerrilla group has been
fighting for an independent Islamic state.
It is also the date by which local parliamentary
leaders say the government must respond to an
ultimatum issued earlier this month. The parliamentary
leaders say that the government has to announce it
will allow an independence referendum to be held in
Aceh, or else the Acehnese will hold one themselves.
Already thousands of people have begun to leave the
province fearing violence will break out.
The push for independence in Aceh has gained momentum
in the month since Indonesia let East Timor go, after
the people there voted to separate from Indonesia.
Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid has tried to
quell the unrest by promising the withdrawal of almost
all Indonesian troops in Aceh, which human rights
groups say have caused the deaths or disappearances of
at least two thousand people in the past 10 years.
Three top generals have also been summoned to appear
before a parliamentary committee for questioning about
alleged atrocities committed by Indonesian soldiers in
the province.
But Rosita Noer, of the human rights group the
Independent Commission on Aceh, says she fears the
military may still use repressive means to try to
control the situation in the province.
///ACT NOER ///
If the government just stays where they are now, it's
just opening the door for the military to have a
forceful crackdown in Aceh and that's what we don't
want to have. No more. Enough is enough.
/// END ACT ///
Indonesian military officials say they are waiting for
permission from President Wahid to impose martial law
in some districts of Aceh, where guerrilla activities
are the highest.
Many officials fear that if Aceh votes for
independence, then other provinces will demand the
same right, leading to the disintegration of
Indonesia.
NEB/PN/FC/ltd/PLM
24-Nov-1999 06:41 AM EDT (24-Nov-1999 1141 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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