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Aceh Referendum Information Center to form local political party

Aceh Kita - November 16, 2007

Fakhri, Banda Aceh – The Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA) plans to form a local political party in Aceh soon. They will be sounding this out during an event titled Two Great Discussions (Duek Pakat Raya, DPR), which is being organised by the SIRA Preparatory Committee for the Establishment of a Local Political Party. The event will be attended by some 180 participants from SIRA representative consulates throughout Aceh and will take place on November 16-18 at the Bintara Pieneung Building in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh.

SIRA's spokesperson, Muhammad Thaib (MTA), said that the group has already completed a political analysis and study, which showed the importance of taking part in enlivening democracy in Aceh. “We have now entered into the implementation and finalisation stage”, said Thaib on Friday November 16.

According to Thaib, after the SIRA Party is formed, it is hopped that it will truly become a party of the Acehnese people. “The SIRA Party will be open to anyone, it won’t be exclusive or dominated by [a particular] class”, he said.

Thaib went on to say that the SIRA Party will remain the same as before, and must be able to struggle for the comprehensive rights of the people and become a political vehicle of struggle for the ordinary Acehnese people.

During the DPR forum a congress and simultaneous declaration of the SIRA Party will be held. Thaib said that the SIRA Party will represent a “child” born out of the SIRA organisation. “Meaning, that SIRA as an organisation will still exist and the SIRA Party will be one of its vehicles”, he said. [adw]

[Translated by James Balowski.]

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