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Acehnese demonstrate outside the U.N building |
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November 9, 2000
JAKARTA (AP) - Hundreds of supporters of Acehnese independence protested Wednesday outside the U.N building in Jakarta demanding the world body intervene in the province to end 25 years of bloodshed. About 800 demonstrators chanted "Referendum for Aceh" and held banners reading "Aceh has the right to freedom." Many of them waved the independence flag of the Free Aceh Movement, a separatist rebel group that has been waging a guerrilla war in the oil- and gas-rich region. Demonstrators called on Acehnese everywhere to mark the anniversary of a massive pro-referendum rally in the province's capital, Banda Aceh, last year. Fighting between Indonesian security forces and rebels has claimed more than 5,500 lives during the past decade in the region, about 1,700 kilometers (1,100 miles) northwest of Jakarta. Aceh is one of the several regions where separatist movements have been energized by East Timor's successful secession from Indonesia last year following a U.N.-sponsored referendum. Rebels are fighting for independence in Irian Jaya, a province on the western half of New Guinea island. They have urged the United Nations to organize a plebiscite on the future of the province. Christians in the embattled Maluku archipelago, where more than 4,000 people have died in 22 months of sectarian violence, also have appealed to the international community to intervene. A low-level insurgency is under way in Riau, an oil-rich province on Sumatra island opposite Singapore. |