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Parliament asks military to restrict foreign observers in Aceh

Kompas - March 8, 2004

Jakarta, Kompas – General elections in Aceh will be held under a state of marshal law and hundreds of foreign observers will monitor the elections in Aceh. Responding to this, the People’s Representative Assembly (DPR) Aceh Monitoring Team has asked the emergency military command (PDMD) in Aceh to restrict the total number and movements of foreign election observers.

“If necessary each country will be restricted to five people. It is impossible [for them] to send hundreds. Later, if anything happens it will be Indonesia which will be accused”, said the chairperson of the team, Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno, who is also the deputy coordinator of the DPR’s Political Department at a press conference at the parliament on Friday March 5.

Based on previous experiences in Aceh explained Soerjogoeritno, a number of foreigners were found to have gone into the interior of Aceh but in realty provided secret reports to overseas countries. On these grounds, each foreign observer must be watched super tightly. “We are concerted that what will be reported later will not be the elections, but other matters”, continued the politician from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle.

The deputy chairperson of Commission I, Franklin William Kayhatu, from the military/police fraction who accompanied Soerjogoeritno also issued a similar statement. “It is best if the PDMD formulates strict rules [for observers]. If there are any [foreign election observers] who violate [these rules] they will be ordered to go home”, he explained.

Based on previous reports by Kompas, the nuance of the DPR monitoring team’s statement is different from what has been said by National Election Commission member Mulyana W. Kusumah and the PDMD commander himself, Major General Endang Suwarya.

Although Suwarya has expressed the hope that foreign observers will not have another agenda outside of monitoring the elections, for as long as they are given permission by the central government, the PDMD has promised to facilitate the work of foreign election observers while they are in Aceh. (sut)

[Translated by James Balowski.]