Nani Afrida, Bireun – Various elements of society in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam view the implementation of Sharia in the province as discriminatory and as not touching on core issues.
"If the government is serious, it should implement local laws in regard to serious violations such as theft and corruption," said legal practitioner Rufriadi on Saturday.
M. Rizal Maslan, Jakarta – Although Aceh has only just begun to implement public floggings the chairperson of the Nahdhatul Ulama's (NU) Executive Board (PBNU), Hasyim Muzadi, believes that the punishment will actually strengthen the Free Aceh Movement's (GAM) position.
Jakarta – Iskandar Muda Regional Military Commander, Major-General Sapiudin Yusuf, believes the shooting of Hong Kong foreign volunteer Eva Yee Wayeung was an attempt by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to demonstrate that their forces still have a presence.
Kathy Marks, Gle Bruk, Aceh – The Acehnese fishermen had just returned with their catch and were on their way back to the refugee camp. As they passed a security post, soldiers barred their way and ordered them to lie face down on the ground. The men were then told to crawl through the dust. Their ordeal ended with a lecture on the virtues of the Indonesian unitary state.
Jakarta – The police urged foreign aid workers in Aceh to secure a police escort when traveling in areas where separatist rebels are known to operate.
"It is important that foreigners ask for a security escort," National Police Chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar explained.
AK-20, Jakarta – The Acehnese Popular Democratic Resistance Front (FPDRA) and Student's Solidarity for the People (SMUR) have condemned the shooting of a Hong Kong Red Cross volunteer in Lamno, Greater Aceh, on Wednesday June 22.
Irwan Firdaus – Fifteen convicted gamblers were flogged Friday for illegal gaming in Indonesia – the first time caning was used as punishment in the world's most populous Muslim country.
Reporter: Tom Iggulden
Slobodan Lekic, Jakarta – Aceh's separatist rebels called Friday for an international probe into the shooting of a Red Cross worker in the tsunami-hit province, saying the Indonesian military has a long history of using violence against foreigners.
Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Legislators lashed out at Vice President Jusuf Kalla on Wednesday for reprimanding a state defense institute for criticizing the ongoing Aceh peace talks. The legislators even claimed that the reprimand could endanger democracy.
An opposite opinion, however, came from a legislator of Kalla's Golkar Party, who said the rebuke was just common.
An Indonesian anti-graft activist working for the United Nations was sentenced to one year in jail Thursday for stealing relief aid intended for the victims of December tsunami in Aceh province.
We condemn in strongest terms the shooting in West Acheh last night of a foreign Red Cross worker by Indonesian security forces.
Of course, the Indonesian military points the finger at GAM. But that's exactly the goal of the shooting. A few moments of clear thinking make clear why that is.
The armed forces of GAM – TNA – demands a full and immediate impartial investigation of the shooting near Lamno Wednesday night of a Red Cross worker from Hong Kong.
Indonesia has already blamed us for the incident. But according to reports from my commanders in the area, none of our fighters were within 15 km of the incident.
Jayapura – If there are armed separatist groups in society which want to separate West Papua from the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI), the TNI (armed forces) must not hesitate to crush them.
Annastashya Emmanuelle, Contributor, Aceh Besar – Six months after the tsunami wrought havoc in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, destroying lives and dimming the hopes of thousands who were already living in uncertainty, Acehnese are still waiting for the promised rebuilding to start, while others have become apathetic and are simply grateful to be alive.
Timber felled illegally is being used to rebuild houses in tsunami-devastated Aceh province, a conservation group said, warning the practice could create another disaster.
Jakarta – The National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas) has criticized the informal talks between the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), urging the exclusion of foreign parties and saying the steps taken so far are unconstitutional.
Shoeb Kagda, Jakarta – With the wet season fast approaching, patience is running thin in Aceh. More than six months after the province was devastated by an undersea earthquake and the ensuing tsunami, life has yet to return to any sense of normality for the half million Acehnese who lost family and homes.
The fake mass 'release of GAM prisoners,' the ongoing human rights violations and the covert movement of thousands of Indonesian troops from their posts to camps hidden from foreign eyes raise the same old questions about Indonesia's commitment to peace and justice in Acheh.
Harry Bhaskara, Aceh – The tsunami may have occurred six months ago but reconstruction work on the northeastern side of Aceh has only just commenced.
"It was only three days ago that construction work started here," said former Cabinet minister Kuntoro Mangkusubroto recently in Deah Baru village, Lhok Nga, one of the hardest hit areas on the northern tip of Sumatra.
Purwanto, Jakarta – Around 50 people from the Aceh Care for Aceh (Acheh Peduli Acheh, APA) held a protest in front of parliament in Jakarta on Monday June 20. They were demanding that the TNI (armed forces) and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) implement a cease-fire.
AK-34, Jakarta – On Monday June 20, hundreds of Achenese citizens living in Jakarta calling themselves Aceh Care for Aceh (Acheh Peduli Acheh, APA) held a peaceful protest in Jakarta.
Dean Yates, Aceh West Coast – High school students in the Acehnese town of Teunom drain rain water off the top of their tent before they begin lessons. They want a new school to replace the one taken by giant waves six months ago.
Barry Neild, Banda Aceh – While most Indonesian child tsunami victims are being cared for by family or friends six months after the disaster, new fears are emerging that young survivors living in tightly-packed camps are being exposed to new dangers.
Along with foreign and local volunteers, the Indonesian Military has been instrumental in rebuilding Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam following the total destruction brought about by the Dec. 26 tsunami. The following is an interview with Maj. Gen.
John Roberts – Talks in the Finnish capital Helsinki between the Indonesian government and the exiled leadership of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) ended on May 31. The outcome of the meeting, the fourth since the devastating Boxing Day tsunami, has been praised by spokesmen from both sides and the Finnish mediators as a major step forward. A final deal by August is mooted.
Reporter: Anne Barker
Eleanor Hall: In Indonesia's Aceh Province, bureaucratic delays and concerns about corruption have stymied efforts to rebuild the communities destroyed in last year's tsunami.
Jakarta – Indonesia's foreign minister Monday defended peace talks between Jakarta and Aceh separatists amid growing criticism from lawmakers and the army, saying that other efforts to deal with the rebels had failed to bring peace to the province.
Jakarta – More than 200 ex-separatist fighters have been freed in the tsunami-wracked province of Aceh after taking an oath of loyalty to a unified Indonesia, a local media report said Monday.
Matthew Moore, Jakarta – The price of rebuilding houses demolished by the tsunami in Aceh province jumped 40 per cent in three months as labourers insisted they get paid for work traditionally done for free.
Jakarta – A number of non-government organisations support the government's efforts to resolve the Aceh problem by continuing the dialogue with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).
Jakarta – The need for wood in Aceh's rehabilitation in Aceh post tsunami waves will be supplied from domestic sources. Therefore, the government will not allow any wood to be purchased from foreign countries.
Jakarta – Caning was officially allowed Friday in Indonesia's troubled province of Aceh, with 20 law breakers set to be caned in the near future, a local government official said.
Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) rejected a cease-fire demand from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), and said it would continue to crush the rebel group until they fully surrender their arms.
Alisa P, Jakarta – In a report on the results of the military operation over the two years that Aceh was under a state of emergency to members of the People's Representative Assembly's (DPR) Commission I, armed forces (TNI) chief General Endriartono Sutarto failed to mention the number of civilian casualties reporting only on the members of Free Acehnese Movement (GAM) who were kill
Barry Neild, Jakarta – Hopes that talks between Indonesian leaders and separatists from tsunami-hit Aceh would end a long-running war were evaporating Thursday as rebels reacted with anger at Jakarta's refusal to compromise.
The Indonesian military claimed Wednesday to have killed almost 4,000 rebels of the Free Aceh Movement during the two-year-long martial law and civil emergency that ended last month, while only about 200 soldiers died, half of them for non-combat reasons.
Jakarta – The Minister of Defense, Juwono Sudarsono, says that the Helsinki meetings which are an informal forum for discussions between Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) are a personal initiative on the part of Vice-president Jusuf Kalla.
Aboeprijadi Santoso, Helsinki – The Helsinki peace talks on Aceh may have to find a way to respect the Acehnese right to their own political parties, which the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) apparently is asking for as a compromise for dropping its independence demands. If this key factor is not agreed upon, the talks may be in jeopardy.
The fourth round of Helsinki Talk ended last week. The informal talk resulted in several points of agreement between RI and GAM for drafting the formal agreements.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla optimistically commented that the talk has made significant achievements.
Jakarta – The Attorney General supports public floggings as punishment for cases of gambling in Aceh. This support was conveyed by the Attorney General when meeting with a number of Acehnese figures last week to discuss Qanun (by-law) Number 13/2003 on gambling which stipulates the punishment of public flogging.
Jakarta – Separatists in Indonesia's Aceh province warned on Monday that Indonesia's powerful military may try to destroy an emerging peace deal to end the bloody, 30-year rebellion. The army denied it had any such intention.
Jakarta – The head of rebels fighting for independence in Indonesia's Aceh province accused the military on Monday of not wanting peace as that would undermined its interests in the resource-rich area.
Harry Bhaskara, Jakarta – The fourth round of peace talks in Helsinki ended last Tuesday without a deal being struck to end the 30-year conflict in Aceh. But President Susilo Bambang Yudhyono said in Tokyo on Thursday that the prospect was promising. Earlier, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said that Indonesia was "on the right track".
Dwi Wiyana, Bandung – Army Chief General Djoko Santoso said the TNI (armed forces) duties' are to safeguard the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Aceh. But he said if the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) continues to create disturbances armed clashes can't be avoided.
Singapore – Indonesian military chief General Endriartono Sutarto said Saturday he was hopeful ongoing peace talks could lead to a permanent solution to a separatist rebellion in Aceh province.
Agus Supriyanto, Jakarta – Tristanti Mitayani, a parliamentary member of Commission I, says she disagrees with the deputy speaker of parliament, Soetardjo Suryogoeritno, who said that the parliament is demanding that government end negotiations with Free Aceh Movement (GAM).
Tony Hotland and Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – Dissatisfied with the "insignificant" results of the latest peace talks in Finland, the House of Representatives demanded on Friday that the government drop plans for further negotiations with insurgents to end the decades-long separatist fighting in Aceh province.
Jakarta – The Human Rights Working Group (HRWG), a coalition of non-government organisations who are active in the field of human rights monitoring, are calling on the TNI (armed forces) so submit to and comply with policies issued by the civilian government, particularly policies seeking a peaceful or negotiated settlement to the Aceh conflict.
Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebel group narrowed their differences when they concluded on Tuesday their fourth round of informal talks aimed at seeking enduring peace in Aceh. Both sides also agreed to resume negotiations in July, before a peace deal, if there is to be one, is struck.