Police in Aceh kill man while hunting for student activists

0 Comments | Asian Political News, May 21, 2001

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, May 14 Kyodo

Police in Indonesia's restive Aceh Province killed a student Monday while hunting for activists belonging to an Acehnese student organization accused of involvement in a bombing incident last Thursday in Jakarta that left at least three dead.

Chairul, a member of the student executive body of the Banda Aceh Public Institute of Islamic Teachings (IAIN), told Kyodo News that IAIN student Marzuki, a 25-year-old member of the student-led Information Center for Referendum in Aceh (SIRA), was shot to death inside the campus.

Like many in Indonesia, Chairul and Marzuki use only one name.

The incident happened when the elite Mobile Brigade raided the campuses of IAIN and Syah Kuala University, both in Aceh's capital of Banda Aceh, early Monday to search for SIRA activists.

On Sunday, Jakarta Police Chief Insp. Gen. Sofjan Yacob said there was strong evidence to suggest the involvement of SIRA activists in last Thursday's bomb blast at the dormitory of Acehnese students in South Jakarta.

At least three people, all Acehnese students, were killed in the blast, the first since the Christmas Eve bombings that rocked the capital last year.

Of the 18 people grilled over the case, at least six have been declared suspects.

SIRA, known for its support of independence for Aceh, has successfully organized a series of mass rallies to call for a referendum on independence.

SIRA, however, has denied involvement in the bombing incident.