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SHOOTING MARKS REBEL PROTEST
IN INDONESIA'S ACEH
by: Amy Chew

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4 Dec 1999
SHOOTING MARKS REBEL PROTEST IN INDONESIA'S ACEH
By Amy Chew
LHOKSEUMAWE, Indonesia,
Dec 4 (Reuters) -

Indonesian security forces fired on pro-independence protesters on Saturday in the rebellious province of Aceh, wounding at least seven people, witnesses and hospital sources said.

The military denied that they had fired, pinning the blame on separatist rebels. Analysts say the future of Indonesia as a country rests on Aceh and whether its battered population can be tempted into accepting greater autonomy rather than independence which many fear would trigger disintegration of the vast archipelago.

The protesters, marking the 23rd anniversary of the Free Aceh rebel movement, were shot after they shouted abuse and slogans in front of the military district headquarters in the town of Sigli, about 1,700 km (1,060 miles) northwest of Jakarta. "If it had been us, there would have more victims than that," local military district commander, Liutenant Colonel Iskandar Sahil, said by phone. He said police had been negotiating with protesters when suddenly rebels appeared out of the crowd and began shooting, wounding two people.

Local residents said the troops had done the shooting. Hospital sources said seven people were being treated for bullet wounds, but no one was seriously hurt.

After the shooting, security forces patrolled the streets which were quiet, with all shops closed. One journalist said soldiers pointed guns at cars carrying reporters, quoting one as shouting; "You guys are dogs."

In some areas, security forces took down thousands of illegal rebel flags and there was an unconfirmed report that a youth had been shot in the leg elsewhere in the province.

MOSTLY QUIET AREBEL ANNIVERSARY

Otherwise, it was a mostly peaceful celebration of the rebel anniversary in this fiercely independent province, where demands have been increasing to break from what is seen as mostly brutal and plundering Jakarta rule.

"There isn't a single vehicle in town. The situation is very tense, there's not even a mosquito," said a local journalist in Lhokseumawe, a hotbed of rebel activity.

The east coast town is also the site of a huge natural gas operation, operated by the U.S. oil giant Mobil Corp, which accounts for a fifth of Indonesia's oil and gas export earnings.

The plant, starting in the mid-1970s, provided the spark that established the Free Aceh guerrilla movement, which argued that nearly all the wealth it generated was being siphoned off by Jakarta with barely any spent on Aceh itself. Even now, government figures show that about a quarter of the roughly four million Acehnese live on or below the poverty line.

Much of the support for independence has followed years of brutal repression by the military during a nine-year campaign against rebels in which at least 2,000 people are thought to have died and many more were raped and tortured.

MANY FLED BEFORE ANNIVERSARY

Thousands of people, mainly immigrants from other parts of Indonesia, fled the province in the run-up to Saturday's anniversary, fearing violence would erupt.

On Friday, President Abdurrahman Wahid warned that the government was prepared to use force, saying calls for an independent Islamic kingdom were unacceptable.

"We will use repressive forces if we are challenged," he said during a trip to Beijing. He returned to Jakarta on Saturday.

Wahid has offered the staunchly Moslem Acehnese a referendum next year on the introduction of sharia law, but says a vote on independence is out of the question. Demands for independence around the archipelago have grown since Jakarta let East Timor vote to break away in August.

Analysts warn that were Aceh to go, Indonesia -- made up of 17,000 islands and grouping hundreds of different languages and ethnic groups -- would unravel, probably violently. In Pantai Bahagia, near Lhokseumawe, about 300 well-armed Free Aceh rebels raised their flag to shouts of "Freedom!" and "God is Great!"

"This is the biggest ever celebration of our anniversary. We reject autonomy or federalism... We will fight until we get independence," deputy rebel commander Zakaria Ahmad told reporters. Flags flew along the nearby village roads and local children shouted "Freedom!" as rebels passed by.

All along the 400-km (250-mile) highway from the provincial capital Banda Aceh to Lhokseumawe, pro-independence sympathisers had painted the red, white and black colours of the Free Aceh flag on doorways, electric poles, bridges and tree trunks.

Along one stretch a huge banner had been hung, reading: "Goodbye Indonesia, Aceh Will Be Independent."

Source:
http://www.alertnet.org/alertnet.nsf/a508d7319b8f83e38525648200010703/8525679b0071141c8525683d0060f257?OpenDocument

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