Sunday, April 29, 2012
Irwandi challenges Zaini’s victory in court
The Jakarta Post | Fri, 04/27/2012 9:53 AM | National
The losing candidate in the Aceh gubernatorial election, Irwandi Yusuf, filed an electoral fraud complaint with the Constitutional Court on Thursday alleging that the April 9 election was marred by rampant fraud and vote-rigging.
Irwandi, the outgoing governor, and former propaganda chief for the now-defunct Free Aceh Movement (GAM), also alleged that his rival Zaini Abdullah won the election through the threat and use of violence.
“We want to prove that Zaini won the election through illegal means and terrorizing people. This isn’t right and it has to be stopped,” Irwandi’s lawyer Muhammad Asrun said during a hearing at the Constitutional Court in Central Jakarta.
He said that the Aceh Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) confirmed that intimidation had been used against voters and even election workers.
The Aceh Independent Election Commission announced on April 17 that Zaini Abdullah and his running mate, Muzakir Manaf, won the local election and would lead Aceh for the 2012–2017 term.
Zaini and Muzakir won a substantial victory, garnering 1,3227,695 votes (55.78 percent) while Irwandi and his running mate Muhyan Yunan received only 694,515 votes (29.18 percent).
Constitutional Court Chief Mahfud MD, who presided over Thursday’s court sitting, adjourned until Friday to hear responses from the commission and Zaini’s attorneys.
Irwandi’s lawyer also asked the court to summon several suspects in recent terror attacks in Aceh who are now in police custody.
Tensions heightened in Aceh ahead of the election. On New Year’s Eve, a shooting spree claimed the lives of several civilians.
Last month, the police shot dead a terror suspect identified as Maimun J.F. and arrested another in a raid in Banda Aceh.
Separately, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto praised the Acehnese for their conduct of the election.
He also lauded Irwandi’s efforts to maintain security ahead of the election.
“I applaud the former Aceh governor’s success in maintaining stability in the recent gubernatorial election,” he said on the sidelines of the 2012 National Development Planning Conference in Jakarta on Thursday. (aml)
Aceh Man Caught Smuggling 35 Kilograms of Marijuana to Medan
April 28, 2012
North Sumatra police have arrested an Acehnese civil servant allegedly attempting to smuggle 35 kilograms of marijuana from Aceh to Medan.
The arrest was made by North Sumatra’s Binjai Timur police as Muhammad Lephia, from the Aceh district of Aceh Tamiang, drove his car through Binjai Timur on his way to Medan.
Police found Lephia had hidden 35 kilograms of dry marijuana leaves behind the panels inside of his car, metrotvnews.com reported on Saturday.
Binjai Timur Police chief Adj. Comr. Ismui said Lephia admitted to serving as a delivery man and being paid Rp 200,000 ($22) per kilogram of dry marijuana leaves he delivered to an unknown person in Medan.
Lephia said he had agreed to deliver the marijuana to pay the bills for his car, which has now been seized by police.
Ismui said police had been suspicious of Lephia’s activities for some time, and had been monitoring his activity for two weeks before the arrest.
He added police would charge Lephia with the 2009 Law on Narcotics, and that he might face a minimum of 15 years in jail.
Under Indonesian law, a person found guilty of distributing more than 5 grams of marijuana might face the death penalty.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Irwandi challenges Zaini’s victory in court
The Jakarta Post | Fri, 04/27/2012 9:53 AM | National
The losing candidate in the Aceh gubernatorial election, Irwandi Yusuf, filed an electoral fraud complaint with the Constitutional Court on Thursday alleging that the April 9 election was marred by rampant fraud and vote-rigging.
Irwandi, the outgoing governor, and former propaganda chief for the now-defunct Free Aceh Movement (GAM), also alleged that his rival Zaini Abdullah won the election through the threat and use of violence.
“We want to prove that Zaini won the election through illegal means and terrorizing people. This isn’t right and it has to be stopped,” Irwandi’s lawyer Muhammad Asrun said during a hearing at the Constitutional Court in Central Jakarta.
He said that the Aceh Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) confirmed that intimidation had been used against voters and even election workers.
The Aceh Independent Election Commission announced on April 17 that Zaini Abdullah and his running mate, Muzakir Manaf, won the local election and would lead Aceh for the 2012–2017 term.
Zaini and Muzakir won a substantial victory, garnering 1,3227,695 votes (55.78 percent) while Irwandi and his running mate Muhyan Yunan received only 694,515 votes (29.18 percent).
Constitutional Court Chief Mahfud MD, who presided over Thursday’s court sitting, adjourned until Friday to hear responses from the commission and Zaini’s attorneys.
Irwandi’s lawyer also asked the court to summon several suspects in recent terror attacks in Aceh who are now in police custody.
Tensions heightened in Aceh ahead of the election. On New Year’s Eve, a shooting spree claimed the lives of several civilians.
Last month, the police shot dead a terror suspect identified as Maimun J.F. and arrested another in a raid in Banda Aceh.
Separately, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto praised the Acehnese for their conduct of the election.
He also lauded Irwandi’s efforts to maintain security ahead of the election.
“I applaud the former Aceh governor’s success in maintaining stability in the recent gubernatorial election,” he said on the sidelines of the 2012 National Development Planning Conference in Jakarta on Thursday. (aml)
Discourse : Aceh’s governor-elect touts business, sharia and reconciliation Zaini Abdullah
| Fri, 04/27/2012 8:21 AM |
Zaini Abdullah and his running mate, Muzakir Manaf, recently won Aceh’s gubernatorial election with more than 51 percent of the vote and are expected to lead the province until 2017. Both were senior members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), which waged a decades-long violent insurgency against the Indonesian government that ended with the signing of the Helsinki agreement in 2005. Zaini, GAM’s former foreign minister, recently talked with The Jakarta Post’s Hotli Simanjuntak about his plans and strategies to develop one of the nation’s poorest provinces. Below are excerpts of their discussion:
Question: What will be your top priority in the short term?
Answer: We are putting efforts to maintain peace and security on the top of our agenda. Then we will focus on how to increase the welfare of the people and reduce unemployment by helping to create more jobs.
I want Aceh to be strongly self-sufficient in its economy, as we have a huge potential in the agriculture, fishery and plantation sectors, where the people who work there are still using traditional means. We want to ensure that we can facilitate them to be more productive. In the foreseeable future, there will be more subsidies for these sectors as well as more education and training.
Our attention will also cover poor people, who have been long affected by the conflict and the [2004] tsunami by providing them not only with healthcare facilities but also with free education until high school. We will also select students with high IQs to be groomed to develop the province.
There are actually no contentious issues in Aceh, other than miscommunication and a lack of information and equal participation of all elements. I even plan to have women and ulama [religious leaders] play a greater role in developing Aceh.
Another issue is to ensure that all points in the [Helsinki] memorandum of understanding are implemented well and included in the Law on Aceh Governance. Many points have not been accommodated, such the division of authority between the central and local government.
Also, some points in the Aceh governance law do not comply with the [memorandum]. We want those points to be reviewed. We’re planning to have a coordination meeting with the central government every three months to discuss sustaining peace in Aceh.
How will you convince business to come to Aceh?
The most important thing is to ensure investors that Aceh is a safe place to do business. We are hoping to forge better cooperation with the central government to reach out to investors and make sure that their security here is guaranteed.
There should be sincerity, honesty and openness on the part of the central government to explain what really happened in Aceh. We need to build more trust with the central government so that investors do not feel hesitation or concern over the business climate in Aceh.
How will you assure investors concerned about rampant illegal fees?
Creating a clean government is a must. This is among the top items on our agenda. We want to change the mind-set of the bureaucracy in Aceh from working to merely make a living to working to serve.
How do you plan on exploiting Aceh’s abundant mineral wealth?
I will definitely reorganize the management of our mining resources. I am sad and concerned to see how the natural resources in this province have been managed.
I’ve lived in Sweden and I would adopt strategies and polices applied there to ensure that our natural resources here are managed in a sustainable way.
I am surprised to see all of our natural resources are sold in raw form, and have only benefitted China, as the commodities have been sold very cheap.
What I will do is have all of our mining commodities processed here in Aceh and then exported. I would also revoke all mining licenses that have the potential to harm our protected forests. There are even some licenses to mine in such forests. This will be a huge disaster for the environment. This must be stopped
immediately.
I thank nongovernmental organizations in the environment sector for raising these issues. We will cooperate to rearrange our mining policies.
On security, how do you plan to reconcile the losing parties to ensure stability?
The focus point of my reconciliation efforts will not only cover the losing parties but also all of Aceh’s people to ensure that they are involved and accommodated.
I welcome all parties to our camp as long as we share the same vision. If they don’t, I cannot force them.
How do you see the implementation of sharia law in Aceh?
Well, I’ve never missed prayers, including when I lived overseas. For the Acehnese, religion is the meat that has nourished you since you were a child.
No Acehnese would ever sever their ties with Islam. But for me, religion and sharia are not contentious issues.
What’s important is to bring the province to its glory as in the time of [Sultan] Iskandar Muda [1583–1636]. At the time all affairs were based on the Koran and the Hadith [the sayings of Muhammad]. That was how the kingdom gained prosperity.
Iskandar Muda could forge quality ties with people from all walks of life, domestically and overseas, whether they were Muslim or non-Muslim. And that’s exactly what I’m planning to replicate.
I want to implement full sharia law, not just partially, as what has been implemented today. This can only be done if you can balance prevention and treatment. I want all Acehnese children to have the highest quality of religious teachings so that they can become good Muslims.
Zaini Abdullah and his running mate, Muzakir Manaf, recently won Aceh’s gubernatorial election with more than 51 percent of the vote and are expected to lead the province until 2017. Both were senior members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), which waged a decades-long violent insurgency against the Indonesian government that ended with the signing of the Helsinki agreement in 2005. Zaini, GAM’s former foreign minister, recently talked with The Jakarta Post’s Hotli Simanjuntak about his plans and strategies to develop one of the nation’s poorest provinces. Below are excerpts of their discussion:
Question: What will be your top priority in the short term?
Answer: We are putting efforts to maintain peace and security on the top of our agenda. Then we will focus on how to increase the welfare of the people and reduce unemployment by helping to create more jobs.
I want Aceh to be strongly self-sufficient in its economy, as we have a huge potential in the agriculture, fishery and plantation sectors, where the people who work there are still using traditional means. We want to ensure that we can facilitate them to be more productive. In the foreseeable future, there will be more subsidies for these sectors as well as more education and training.
Our attention will also cover poor people, who have been long affected by the conflict and the [2004] tsunami by providing them not only with healthcare facilities but also with free education until high school. We will also select students with high IQs to be groomed to develop the province.
There are actually no contentious issues in Aceh, other than miscommunication and a lack of information and equal participation of all elements. I even plan to have women and ulama [religious leaders] play a greater role in developing Aceh.
Another issue is to ensure that all points in the [Helsinki] memorandum of understanding are implemented well and included in the Law on Aceh Governance. Many points have not been accommodated, such the division of authority between the central and local government.
Also, some points in the Aceh governance law do not comply with the [memorandum]. We want those points to be reviewed. We’re planning to have a coordination meeting with the central government every three months to discuss sustaining peace in Aceh.
How will you convince business to come to Aceh?
The most important thing is to ensure investors that Aceh is a safe place to do business. We are hoping to forge better cooperation with the central government to reach out to investors and make sure that their security here is guaranteed.
There should be sincerity, honesty and openness on the part of the central government to explain what really happened in Aceh. We need to build more trust with the central government so that investors do not feel hesitation or concern over the business climate in Aceh.
How will you assure investors concerned about rampant illegal fees?
Creating a clean government is a must. This is among the top items on our agenda. We want to change the mind-set of the bureaucracy in Aceh from working to merely make a living to working to serve.
How do you plan on exploiting Aceh’s abundant mineral wealth?
I will definitely reorganize the management of our mining resources. I am sad and concerned to see how the natural resources in this province have been managed.
I’ve lived in Sweden and I would adopt strategies and polices applied there to ensure that our natural resources here are managed in a sustainable way.
I am surprised to see all of our natural resources are sold in raw form, and have only benefitted China, as the commodities have been sold very cheap.
What I will do is have all of our mining commodities processed here in Aceh and then exported. I would also revoke all mining licenses that have the potential to harm our protected forests. There are even some licenses to mine in such forests. This will be a huge disaster for the environment. This must be stopped
immediately.
I thank nongovernmental organizations in the environment sector for raising these issues. We will cooperate to rearrange our mining policies.
On security, how do you plan to reconcile the losing parties to ensure stability?
The focus point of my reconciliation efforts will not only cover the losing parties but also all of Aceh’s people to ensure that they are involved and accommodated.
I welcome all parties to our camp as long as we share the same vision. If they don’t, I cannot force them.
How do you see the implementation of sharia law in Aceh?
Well, I’ve never missed prayers, including when I lived overseas. For the Acehnese, religion is the meat that has nourished you since you were a child.
No Acehnese would ever sever their ties with Islam. But for me, religion and sharia are not contentious issues.
What’s important is to bring the province to its glory as in the time of [Sultan] Iskandar Muda [1583–1636]. At the time all affairs were based on the Koran and the Hadith [the sayings of Muhammad]. That was how the kingdom gained prosperity.
Iskandar Muda could forge quality ties with people from all walks of life, domestically and overseas, whether they were Muslim or non-Muslim. And that’s exactly what I’m planning to replicate.
I want to implement full sharia law, not just partially, as what has been implemented today. This can only be done if you can balance prevention and treatment. I want all Acehnese children to have the highest quality of religious teachings so that they can become good Muslims.
PT investa Aceh
Triangle Energy (Global) Limited : Triangle signs agreement with Aceh government owned PT Investa Aceh
04/27/2012 | 03:49am
T r i a n g l e s i g n s a g r e e m e n t w i t h A c e h g o v e r n m e n t o w n e d P T I n v e s t a A c e h
27 April 2012.
Triangle Energy (Global) Limited (Triangle Energy) (ASX: TEG) is pleased to confirm it has executed an exclusive Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with PT Investa Aceh, a company owned by the Government of Aceh.
The MOA outlines the terms for the future management and operation of the Pase Working
Area within the province of Aceh.
As a result, PT Investa Aceh is proceeding with the Indonesian Central Government to secure a new Production Sharing Contract (PSC) in relation to the Pase Working Area.
About Triangle Energy:
Triangle Energy is a gas production and exploration company based in Perth. Its wholly- owned subsidiary, Triangle Pase Inc, is based in Jakarta and has operated the Pase
Production Sharing Contract since June 2009 which covers an area of 922km2 in Aceh
Province, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Triangle Energy is continuing to review further acquisition opportunities in the area.
ASX CODE: TEG
Unit7
589 Stirling Highway
Cottesloe WA 6011 Australia
Telephone 08 9286 8300
Facsimile 08 9385 5184
admin@triangleenergy.com.au www.triangleenergy.com.au
For Further information, please contact:
John Towner - Executive Chairman Triangle Energy (Global) Limited
| Address: Unit 7, 589 Stirling Highway, Cottesloe WA 6011 | Tel: + 61 8 9286 8300 | Fax: + 61 8 9385 5184 | admin@triangleenergy.com.au | www.triangleenergy.com.au |
04/27/2012 | 03:49am
T r i a n g l e s i g n s a g r e e m e n t w i t h A c e h g o v e r n m e n t o w n e d P T I n v e s t a A c e h
27 April 2012.
Triangle Energy (Global) Limited (Triangle Energy) (ASX: TEG) is pleased to confirm it has executed an exclusive Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with PT Investa Aceh, a company owned by the Government of Aceh.
The MOA outlines the terms for the future management and operation of the Pase Working
Area within the province of Aceh.
As a result, PT Investa Aceh is proceeding with the Indonesian Central Government to secure a new Production Sharing Contract (PSC) in relation to the Pase Working Area.
About Triangle Energy:
Triangle Energy is a gas production and exploration company based in Perth. Its wholly- owned subsidiary, Triangle Pase Inc, is based in Jakarta and has operated the Pase
Production Sharing Contract since June 2009 which covers an area of 922km2 in Aceh
Province, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Triangle Energy is continuing to review further acquisition opportunities in the area.
ASX CODE: TEG
Unit7
589 Stirling Highway
Cottesloe WA 6011 Australia
Telephone 08 9286 8300
Facsimile 08 9385 5184
admin@triangleenergy.com.au www.triangleenergy.com.au
For Further information, please contact:
John Towner - Executive Chairman Triangle Energy (Global) Limited
| Address: Unit 7, 589 Stirling Highway, Cottesloe WA 6011 | Tel: + 61 8 9286 8300 | Fax: + 61 8 9385 5184 | admin@triangleenergy.com.au | www.triangleenergy.com.au |
From ballots to bullets in Aceh
From ballots to bullets in Aceh
Earlier this month, leaders of the former separatist group Aceh Free Movement (GAM) in Indonesia's northern province of Aceh won gubernatorial elections for the second time since giving up their armed insurgency in 2005. But they learned that governing by democratic means is just as challenging as waging guerilla warfare from the jungles -- if not more so.
Zaini Abdullah, who eight years ago served as foreign and health minister of the Aceh government-in-exile in Sweden, won the election, beating incumbent governor Irwandi Yusuf. Zaini's running mate, Muzakir Manaf, formerly the military commander of GAM, will serve as deputy governor.
A physician by profession who joined the independence fight in the 1970s, in recent press interviews Zaini has said that he will now focus on bringing peace and economic development to Aceh. Like most other former rebel leaders, however, he has not openly renounced his separatist aspirations, saying rather that he is "putting them aside."
Zaini was the chief negotiator for GAM when it signed the peace agreement with Jakarta in Helsinki in August 2005 that ended 30 years of bloody warfare. In return for giving up weapons and pledging allegiance to Indonesia, the former rebels are allowed to organize politically and contest the local elections if they want to govern the autonomous territory.
The GAM gambit paid off. The group transformed itself into the Aceh Party, which has since won local elections that have put many of its own people in charge of the provincial and district governments and the legislative councils.
Irwandi also won the gubernatorial elections in 2007 on the Aceh Party tick, but this year he had to run as an independent after the party withdrew its support and gave it to Zaini Abdullah. As a result, this month's gubernatorial elections were essentially a two-horse race -- and both of the candidates were ex-guerillas. Between them the two former rebel leaders won over 80 percent of the votes, sidelining the three candidates representing the interests of Jakarta-based political parties. The Aceh Party candidates also won many of the elections at the district level.
A strong reminder of the precarious situation facing the new Aceh leaders came just two days after the April 9 elections, when an earthquake measuring 8 on the Richter scale rocked the territory. The tremor set off a massive panic (the photo above shows people fleeing to higher ground), but the early tsunami warnings turned out to be unfounded. Ten people died, some from fear or heart attacks.
Ironically, it was the massive devastation of Aceh after the even bigger earthquake and ensuing tsunami in December 2004 (which killed over 200,000 people) that forced GAM and the Indonesian government to meet halfway and sign a peace treaty that enabled them to rebuild the devastated territory together.
Since then, the elected GAM members now in charge of running Aceh have had to learn the ins and outs of governance even while bearing much of the responsibility for rebuilding a territory ravaged by war and natural disasters.
As outgoing governor Irwandi has learned the hard way, failing to meet the people's expectations means being voted out of office. Zaini, who moves to the governor's office in May, could meet the same fate five years from now. And next time around, there's no guarantee that the Aceh Party will be as popular as it is today.
With peace and security remaining one of the biggest problems facing Aceh (since many former rebels have kept their weapons in contravention of the Helsinki agreement), Zaini will have to work together with the Indonesian police and military, the very same forces he and his GAM colleagues fought bitterly for more than 30 years.
In spite of the peace deal, violence remains the order of the day in Aceh. It increased during the election campaign, and the polling day had to be delayed by two months.
Aceh's precarious security condition also made it an ideal base for a breakaway group of the Jemaah Islamiyyah, the deadly Indonesian terrorist organization. The group set up a military training facility there that was discovered by the police only in 2010.
Zaini will also have to decide about what to do about sharia. At the height of the military campaign against the rebels, Jakarta gave the local government in Aceh leeway to impose Islamic law. It was all part of an attempt to drive a wedge between GAM and local Islamic leaders. GAM has largely been a secular independence movement and has never taken up Islam as its cause. Today, Aceh is the only province in Indonesia governed according to Islamic law. While beheading is not practiced, the caning of "sinners" has become a public spectacle after Friday prayers in some towns.
The biggest challenge facing Zaini and his GAM colleagues is how to bring prosperity. The people in Aceh count among the poorest in Indonesia even though the province is rich in oil, gas, and forestry products. Prolonged war, poor governance, and the fact that most of the gas revenues in the past went to Jakarta and its American oil contractors, have combined to keep Aceh impoverished. Today, under the autonomy deal, a larger share of revenues from natural resources stays in Aceh.
The former rebel leaders in Aceh have so much on their plates, and so many challenges to overcome, that independence seems a remote if not irrelevant issue, at least for now. The autonomy deal gave them the main thing they were fighting for, namely, control over their own destinies. Now they have to show that they can do the rest.
Earlier this month, leaders of the former separatist group Aceh Free Movement (GAM) in Indonesia's northern province of Aceh won gubernatorial elections for the second time since giving up their armed insurgency in 2005. But they learned that governing by democratic means is just as challenging as waging guerilla warfare from the jungles -- if not more so.
Zaini Abdullah, who eight years ago served as foreign and health minister of the Aceh government-in-exile in Sweden, won the election, beating incumbent governor Irwandi Yusuf. Zaini's running mate, Muzakir Manaf, formerly the military commander of GAM, will serve as deputy governor.
A physician by profession who joined the independence fight in the 1970s, in recent press interviews Zaini has said that he will now focus on bringing peace and economic development to Aceh. Like most other former rebel leaders, however, he has not openly renounced his separatist aspirations, saying rather that he is "putting them aside."
Zaini was the chief negotiator for GAM when it signed the peace agreement with Jakarta in Helsinki in August 2005 that ended 30 years of bloody warfare. In return for giving up weapons and pledging allegiance to Indonesia, the former rebels are allowed to organize politically and contest the local elections if they want to govern the autonomous territory.
The GAM gambit paid off. The group transformed itself into the Aceh Party, which has since won local elections that have put many of its own people in charge of the provincial and district governments and the legislative councils.
Irwandi also won the gubernatorial elections in 2007 on the Aceh Party tick, but this year he had to run as an independent after the party withdrew its support and gave it to Zaini Abdullah. As a result, this month's gubernatorial elections were essentially a two-horse race -- and both of the candidates were ex-guerillas. Between them the two former rebel leaders won over 80 percent of the votes, sidelining the three candidates representing the interests of Jakarta-based political parties. The Aceh Party candidates also won many of the elections at the district level.
A strong reminder of the precarious situation facing the new Aceh leaders came just two days after the April 9 elections, when an earthquake measuring 8 on the Richter scale rocked the territory. The tremor set off a massive panic (the photo above shows people fleeing to higher ground), but the early tsunami warnings turned out to be unfounded. Ten people died, some from fear or heart attacks.
Ironically, it was the massive devastation of Aceh after the even bigger earthquake and ensuing tsunami in December 2004 (which killed over 200,000 people) that forced GAM and the Indonesian government to meet halfway and sign a peace treaty that enabled them to rebuild the devastated territory together.
Since then, the elected GAM members now in charge of running Aceh have had to learn the ins and outs of governance even while bearing much of the responsibility for rebuilding a territory ravaged by war and natural disasters.
As outgoing governor Irwandi has learned the hard way, failing to meet the people's expectations means being voted out of office. Zaini, who moves to the governor's office in May, could meet the same fate five years from now. And next time around, there's no guarantee that the Aceh Party will be as popular as it is today.
With peace and security remaining one of the biggest problems facing Aceh (since many former rebels have kept their weapons in contravention of the Helsinki agreement), Zaini will have to work together with the Indonesian police and military, the very same forces he and his GAM colleagues fought bitterly for more than 30 years.
In spite of the peace deal, violence remains the order of the day in Aceh. It increased during the election campaign, and the polling day had to be delayed by two months.
Aceh's precarious security condition also made it an ideal base for a breakaway group of the Jemaah Islamiyyah, the deadly Indonesian terrorist organization. The group set up a military training facility there that was discovered by the police only in 2010.
Zaini will also have to decide about what to do about sharia. At the height of the military campaign against the rebels, Jakarta gave the local government in Aceh leeway to impose Islamic law. It was all part of an attempt to drive a wedge between GAM and local Islamic leaders. GAM has largely been a secular independence movement and has never taken up Islam as its cause. Today, Aceh is the only province in Indonesia governed according to Islamic law. While beheading is not practiced, the caning of "sinners" has become a public spectacle after Friday prayers in some towns.
The biggest challenge facing Zaini and his GAM colleagues is how to bring prosperity. The people in Aceh count among the poorest in Indonesia even though the province is rich in oil, gas, and forestry products. Prolonged war, poor governance, and the fact that most of the gas revenues in the past went to Jakarta and its American oil contractors, have combined to keep Aceh impoverished. Today, under the autonomy deal, a larger share of revenues from natural resources stays in Aceh.
The former rebel leaders in Aceh have so much on their plates, and so many challenges to overcome, that independence seems a remote if not irrelevant issue, at least for now. The autonomy deal gave them the main thing they were fighting for, namely, control over their own destinies. Now they have to show that they can do the rest.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Teka teki penembakan di Aceh dan kekerasan menjelang pilkada
Irwandi: Dughok Cs yang Tembak Cage & Pekerja Non Aceh
http://www.yiela.com/view/1671521/warga-norwegia-tewas-ditembak-di-aceh
Banda Aceh – Irwandi Yusuf mengungkapkan bahwa kelompok yang melakukan penembakan selama ini di Aceh adalah kelompok Dughok Cs. Hal itu dikatakan Irwandi ketika memberikan arahan terhadap para juru kampanye Irwandi – Muhyan di Asrama Haji Banda Aceh, Kamis (22/3).
“Yang melakukan penembakan terhadap Cagee dan para pekerja Non Aceh itu adalah kelompok Mayor, Dughok, Ulee Bara, kelompok mereka itu. Ada satu lagi di Aceh Rayeuk, mantan anak buahnya Muharram, yaitu Lem Mun, atau Lem Maimun,” ungkap Irwandi.
Irwandi juga mengatakan kekecewaannya terhadap kinerja Polda Aceh yang belum mengungkapkan motif penembakan di Aceh yang terjadi dalam beberapa bulan terakhir. Menurutnya, Polisi telah bermain-main dengan kondisi Aceh, padahal taruhannya adalah nyawa.
Namun ia mengapresiasi kerja Densus 88 yang berhasil menangkap mereka, ia yakin bahwa sebentar lagi akan terbongkar semuanya. “Sudah datang yang benar sekarang, yaitu Densus 88, kita lihat sebentar lagi semuanya akan terbongkar,” kata Irwandi.
Dia juga berpesan kepada anggota Tim Seuramoe Irwandi untuk tidak melakukan pembalasan. “Jangan balas, nanti kita akan menyesal, politik ini hanya agenda semusim, nanti kita akan baikan lagi. Tapi kita sesalkan, kalaupun harus baikan, orang-orang yang sudah hilang nyawanya tidak akan bisa kembali lagi,” tambah Irwandi.
Sebelumnya, ketika berada di gedung DPRA setelah penyampaian visi dan misi, Irwandi saat ditanyakan tentang kasus kekerasan di Aceh yang terjadi selama ini, Irwandi menjawab dengan hal yang sama, dia meminta kepada Kapolda untuk berani mengungkap kepada publik.
“Sudah ada tersangka, sudah ada yang ditangkap dan sudah mengaku. Saya minta kepada Kapolda agar berani mengungkapnya secara gamblang,” ujar Irwandi. Dia mengulangi lagi kata-kata “agar berani mengungkapnya” sampai tiga kali. (MP)
Deugok I Ba U Jakarta, Densus 88 Grebek Rumah Malek Mahmud, Gengsters Pembunuh Cagee Ditangkap
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
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Banda Aceh | Acehtraffic.com – Kapolda Aceh, Irjen Pol Iskandar Hasan, mengungkapkan bahwa pihaknya telah membawa enam orang yang ditangkap terkait temuan bom rakitan di kawasan Lhoong, Aceh Besar, beberapa waktu lalu.
Hal itu disampaikan Iskandar di hadapan tim pengawasan Dewan Perwakilan Daerah (DPD) RI untuk Pemilukada Aceh di Mapolda Aceh, hari Rabu 21 Maret 2012. Dalam pertemuan itu juga hadir para direktur di Polda Aceh dan Pangdam Iskandar Muda, Mayjen TNI Adi Mulyono bersama jajarannya.
Seperti diberitakan sebelumnya, pada Sabtu 10 Maret 2012 polisi menangkap Dugok bersama dua rekannya: Usria dan Ulee Bara alias Sulaiman di Aceh Utara. Penangkapan Dugok cs dilakukan hampir bersamaan dengan penangkapan tiga pemilik bom pipa di Lhong, Aceh Besar, yaitu MMS, KM, dan RM. “Enam orang yang kita tangkap sedang dalam proses dan sudah kita kirim ke Mabes Polri. Kita minta Mabes investigas karena kita ingin fokus pengamanan Pemilukada,” kata Kapolda Aceh.
Ditambahkan bahwa jajaran Polda Aceh dibantu tim dari Mabes Polri sedang memburu lima orang yang diyakini terkait dalam kasus Dugok cs. “Masih ada lima orang lagi yang intinya sedang kita cari. Itu berdasarkan dari pengakuan keenam yang sudah kita tangkap,” kata Iskandar.
Menurut Kapolda Aceh, keenam orang yang telah dibawa ke Jakarta beberapa hari lalu diduga terkait dengan beberapa kasus penembakan di Banda Aceh, Aceh Besar, Aceh Utara, dan Lhokseumawe.
Setelah pemeriksaan selesai dilakukan di Mabes Polri, jelas Kapolda, keenam tersangka akan diserahkan ke Kejaksaan Tinggi Aceh untuk disidangkan. Iskandar juga menjelaskan bahwa dalam beberapa hari terakhir, terjadi kasus pembakaran dan intimidasi di beberapa daerah. Polisi terus bekerja memburu para pelaku kekerasan menjelang pilkada itu, katanya.
Pejabat Polri Aceh mengungkapkan Polri saat ini masih memburu sejumlah pelaku teror, setelah sebelumnya Densus 88 menangkap kelompok Dugok cs yang membunuh pekerja kabel optik Telkom asal Jember dan Banyuwangi, Jawa Timur di Kec. Jeumpa, Kab.Bireuren serta penangkapan kelompok Si Mayor cs yang membunuh Saiful Cagee,22 juli 2011.
Mabes Polri saat ini masih terus melakukan pengembangan setelah beberapa kader PA ditangkap karena terlibat pembunuhan pekerja PT Satya Agung di Aceh Utara, Minggu 5 Desember 2011 Polda Aceh telah mengumumkan 6 pelaku yang terlibat dan beberapa nama lain masih disimpan karena polisi harus melakukan pengembangan kasus-kasus kekerasan di Aceh.
Sebelumnya, Desakan agar kepolisian mengungkapkan ke publik karena aksi-aksi Densus 88 di Aceh dengan aksi penangkapan dan penggerebekan, membingungkan masyarakat Aceh, seperti dua peristiwa penggerebekan di Banda Aceh, pada Jum’at 17 Maret 2012 di kediaman Wali Nanggroe Jl Pemancar
Dan Pada Sabtu 18 Maret 2012 malam di kediaman Mentro Malek. Di duga dalam kejadian tersebut, polisi menyita sejumlah pucuk senjata api dan amunisi, namun tidak terlihat penangkapan. Rentetan kejadian yang disaksian warga di dua tempat kejadian tersebut tidak juga diumumkan ke publik oleh pejabat Polri Aceh.
Sementara itu, di wilayah Pase merebak issue dikalangan masyarakat soal informasi ditangkapnya Ketua tim sukses Partai Aceh [PA], Fikram alias Ayah Banta, diduga penangkapan tersebut saling keterkaitan satu dengan yang lainnya.
Setelah kejadian tersebut pada Jum’at 17 Maret 2012 kediaman Wali Nanggroe Jl Pemancar digrebek densus 88, dan Sabtu 18 Maret 2012 giliran rumah pemangku wali nanggroe Malek mahmud Al Haytar yang diutak atik.
Polisi hingga saat ini masih merahasiakan pelaku yang telah ditangkap, yang menjadi pertanyaan apakah publikasi pelaku teror berefek pada suara dalam kancah politik Pilkada nantinya, sehingga pihak keamanan memilih untuk bungkam? | AT | AK | YD | BBI |
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