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| Southeast Asia |
| Background on Aceh |
| 2003-06-02 |
| Seems to be news surfacing daily on the situation, so here's some background on the rebel war in Aceh: ed for length It is here then [at the mosque], that one might expect to find support for Jakarta's offer of Islamic sharia law as a way to ease tension in the war-torn province. Instead, there is little but disdain. ''Sharia has been here for a long time. What we need is peace,'' said an old man. ''People are struggling to earn money and buy food. Our security is always under threat.'' Indeed, Jakarta missed the point when it offered sharia law to Aceh as part of an autonomy package in 2001 aimed at diluting independence demands and hostility toward the government of the world's most populous Muslim nation. Devout Muslims, Acehnese had already been formally practicing sharia law in daily life for decades in areas such as marriage, divorce, dress regulations and bans on alcohol. But they also largely reject strict punishments such as the amputation of hands for theft that sharia in theory can dispense. To many, waving sharia like an olive branch had shown how little Jakarta understands their way of life and also their needs for not sharia law, but any law that did away with impunity and brought soldiers to justice for rights abuses. ''If there's no order, what is sharia?'' said Islamic cleric and academic Yusny Saby. The province has been placed under martial law for six months as the government tries to crush rebels of the Free Aceh Movement, who have fought for independence since 1976. Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra island, is often called the ''Verandah of Mecca'' in Indonesia because it was the first part of the archipelago to adopt Islam and the springboard from which it spread centuries ago. |
| Posted by:Anon1 |
| #1 oops, Fred pls put in SE Asia as I'm too tired and silly |
| Posted by: Anon1 2003-06-02 08:50:28 |