Kompas -
January 7, 2009
Banda Aceh –
Intimidation through setting fire to political party offices, banners,
billboards and campaign advertising and threats against legislative candidates
has tainted the administration of the 2009 elections in Indonesia’s
northern-most province of Aceh.
The ordinary
people do not have the courage to stand up against this, and the recently
established Aceh Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) said that it is
unable to take any action whatsoever if there are no reports from residents.
This
intimidation was related separately by Aceh People’s Party (PRA) general
secretary Thamren Ananda, Bireuen regency Democrat Party regional leadership
board chairperson Muhammad Ali and Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) regional
advisory board member Raihan Iskandar in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh
on Tuesday January 6.
The latest
incident was the burning of a PRA billboard and two Aceh Party (established by
the Free Aceh Movement, GAM) sagoe (village) offices in South-East Aceh
by an unidentified person or persons.
Ananda said
that the intimidation that they have been subject to has no just been the
disappearance of party flags, but also verbal abuse against its members and residents,
who have been intimidated not to vote for a particular party. These threats are
rarely disclosed by the mass media.
Iskandar
added that as a consequence of this intimidation, residents often prefer that
party officials not visit to their homes. “They are afraid of being considered
sympathisers of a particular party. If they’re found out, it is dangerous for
them and their families”, he reiterated.
Muhammad Ali
related how aside from the disappearance of party flags from various parts of
Bireuen, Democrat Party legislative candidates have also been intimidated by
being asked not to conduct election campaigns. This is not the first time that
such incidents have occurred. Ananda stated that intimidation and violence such
as this does irreparable damage to democracy.
Aceh
Panwaslu chairperson Nyak Arief Fadillah Syah said that up until now they had
yet to receive any reports about this intimidation. “The information is still
minimal. We cannot take action if there is no official report”, he said.
Nyak Arief
warned that the best thing for political parties to do is to compete fairly in
order to attract support. Political parties and other parties that carry out
intimidation to win over a certain group could end up not being elected by the
people. Iskandar also emphasised that the public must oppose such intimidation
by specific groups. (mhd)
Notes:
In a follow
up report by Kompas on January 8, the paper reported that the PRA and
the Democrat Party have reported the intimidation to Panwaslu, although there
was still no mention of who or which groups were responsible.
[Translated
by James Balowski.]
