ASG: Elections in Aceh were a violent fraud

ASG: Elections in Aceh were a violent fraud

"The recent parliamentary elections were a step forward for many parts of Indonesia, however the 4 million people living in the province of Aceh remain in the grips of martial law reminiscent of Suharto's brutal era" said John Anderson, member of the Aceh Support Group.

A recent release by the Indonesian Embassy shows that they have not properly read the report by the European Union Election Observation Mission to Indonesia General Elections 2004. The report clearly states that restrictions on the Election Observers meant that "in the circumstances encountered it is not possible on this occasion to draw any conclusions as to the validity or otherwise of the overall conduct of the elections in this one province".

The observers were under continuous armed guard, time spent at polling stations was deliberately restricted, and they could not witness the opening of polling stations or the completion of vote counting.

The elections in Aceh were a violent fraud and should be declared null and void. Details of the abuse can be found in the SIRA (Aceh Referendum Information Centre) report 'Betrayal of the Principles of Democracy and the Rule of Law'. Martial law must end now, and peace negotiations should resume between the Indonesian government and GAM (Free Aceh Movement).

To read the report of EUEOM go to http://www.id.eueom.org/

To read the SIRA Report go to http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/archive/scoop/stories/04/ed/200404161122.d7dfd5d5.html

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