Tens Of Thousands Gather In East Aceh Town To Demand Referendum


JAKARTA, Nov 4 (AFP) - Tens of thousands of people paraded peacefully through Sigli in the Pidie district of Indonesia's volatile Aceh province Thursday demanding a referendum on self-determination, officials said.

Sigli military commander, Lieutenant Colonel Iskandar Sahil, told AFP the huge crowd of protestors paraded around the town on foot, in trucks and on motorcycles.

By 2:00 p.m. (0700 GMT) there had been no violence and the members of the procession had dispersed peacefully, he said.

"It was a good parade because they didn't create any chaos unlike Tuesday in Meulaboh," Sahil said.

"We spoke with the parade organizers and told them that if anything happens, they will be held responsible."

Most of the protesters were from Sigli, a city of 475,000 people on the coast of East Aceh, he added.

The protestors had first gathered in three areas of the city -- Glumpang Minyuek, Uleeglee and Padang Tiji -- then set off down the main highway carrying banners and shouting slogans.

They circled around the Sigli grand mosque, because they had agreed not to enter downtown Sigli to prevent massive traffic jams, Sahil said.

After the parade, the group then held a public speech forum at the Daud Beureuh mosque in Kotamini, some 18 kilometers (11 miles) east of Sigli, before dispersing quietly.

The daily Kompas newspaper quoted East Aceh police chief Bahrumsyah as saying on Tuesday that he could do nothing to stop the huge rally.

"It is the people's right to voice their opinion, but I hope everthing will go smoothly, and hopefully there will be no chaos," Bahrumsyah said.

Leaflets calling people to the rally had been circulating in Pidie since last week, which helped local security to organize the rally, Sahil said.

The mass rally came two days after police shot and wounded 19 people in the West Aceh capital of Meulaboh when a mob of more than 5,000 people tried to force soldiers at the local military garrison to lower the Indonesian flag.

The protestors in Meulaboh also burned government buildings including a prison to the ground, forcing authorties to free some 60 prisoners to save them.

Aceh, a province on the western tip of Sumatra island, has been wracked by violence involving security forces and armed separatist rebels who have been fighting for an independent Islamic state since 1976.

Scores of soldiers have been killed in recent months while the military, which has often used brutal tactics in a bid to crush the rebels, stands accused of shooting 51 civilians in a field in July.

Bitterness against the government has been fuelled by dissatisfaction over the exploitation of Aceh's natural resources.

The discontent has led to mounting calls for an East Timor-style referendum on self-determination.

Previous governments have ruled out such a vote but the new Wahid administration has promised to increase the autonomy of the country's disparate regions.