Skip to main content

Peace-maker issue drives Aceh voters

Hotli Simanjuntak , The Jakarta Post , Banda Aceh | Mon, 07/06/2009 9:46 AM | Headlines

The presidential and vice presidential debates, particularly on the peace-maker issue, have considerably influenced the Acehnese and led them to rethink their preferred candidates.

The change in the political preference is mainly due to the establishment of peace by the government in the country’s westernmost province, which both President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his rival Vice President Jusuf Kalla have claimed credit for during their political campaigns.

According to Asmara Nababan, former National Commission of Human Rights (Komnas HAM) secretary general, the establishment of peace in Aceh had given Yudhoyono the edge rather than Kalla.





Both the Aceh Party, which was established by former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels, and Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party, won the most votes in the April 9 legislative elections.

“Most Aceh Party voters are likely to vote for the SBY-Boediono pair at the July 8 presidential elections since many former GAM members are now supporting the SBY-Boediono pair,” Nababan recently said.

However, Kalla has also trumpeted his role as the main player in the Aceh peace process conducted at the mediation in Finland.

Regardless of the two both having claimed the establishment of peace in Aceh, the Acehnese themselves will vote for the candidate whom they think will be the best for the continuation of peace in the province.

Kartina, a resident of Luthu Dayang Krueng Village from Aceh Besar, said the security issue had been the major concern for her and her fellow villagers.

“Peace in Aceh is the most important thing and must be secured and taken care by whoever our next president will be. The next country leader must be able to accept the aspirations of Aceh people to keep the peace,” she told The Jakarta Post.

Kartina said she still had not recovered from the trauma she had experienced throughout the three-decade conflict that killed at least 2,000 Acehnese.

She admitted her political preference changed after she watched the candidates debate the peace issue.

“I was sure about one candidate, but now I’m not anymore. I am now in a hard situation since all candidates are showing their strengths and weaknesses,” Katrina said, refusing to mention the candidate she was referring to.

Meanwhile, the Aceh Besar branch of Independent Election Commission (KIP) in cooperation with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) held Saturday a polling and vote-counting simulation in Katrina’s village.

Akmal Abzal from the KIP said the simulation aimed to ensure successful polling in remote areas in Aceh. (bbs)

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ASEAN pushes for resumption of N. Korea nuke talks

ASEAN and friends: Foreign Ministers from left, Vietnam's Pham Gia Khiem, South Korea's Kim Sung-hwan, Japan's Takeaki Matsumoto, Indonesia's Marty Natalegawa, and China's Yang Jiechi, hold hands during a group photo at the opening session of ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, Thursday. (AP/Dita Alangkara) Associated Press, Nusa Dua | Thu, 07/21/2011 2:19 PM Foreign ministers from 10 Southeast Asian nations are calling for a speedy resumption of talks aimed at convincing North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program. China, the US, Japan, South Korea and Russia had been negotiating since 2003 to persuade Pyongyang to dismantle the program in exchange for aid and other concessions. The North pulled out of the talks about two years ago after being censured for launching a long-range rocket. It has indicated a willingness in recent months to return to the table. The 10-member Association of Southeast As...
Post a Comment
Read more

Judicial watchdog to visit Antasari in prison

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 06/15/2011 9:45 PM The Judicial Commission plans to send investigators to question former Corruption Eradication Commission chief Antasari Azhar regarding his belief that the panel of judges made mistakes during his trial. “We want to hear and collect evidence from his side, if there is any, about the judges during his trial,” Suparman Marzuki, the commission’s supervisory division chief, said Wednesday as quoted by tempointeraktif.com. The Judicial Commission is in the middle of gathering evidence in response to an allegation by Antasari’s lawyer that the panel of judges took into consideration the wrong evidence during his trial. The South Jakarta District Court panel found Antasari guilty of murder and he is currently detained at Tangerang Penitentiary.
Post a Comment
Read more