Banda Aceh – Eight Indonesian student activists said here Monday they have begun a hunger strike to demand freedom of speech in the restive province of Aceh. AFP reported the eight began their fast under a tent outside the office of the Joint Security Committee (JSC) which oversees a peace pact between the government and the separatist Free Aceh Movement.

The students, including one woman, demanded in a statement "that a guarantee be issued of freedom for the people of Aceh to take part in politics." They also demanded that all soldiers and police be withdrawn from "illegal" outposts, including in villages and inside campuses. The students also called on the JSC and the Henry Dunant Center, which mediated the peace pact, to order police to free all "political prisoners."

Earlier Monday, some 500 other activists from student and rights groups also protested outside the JSC office and police headquarters, demanding that police free Muhammad Nazar, the chairman of SIRA, a group seeking a referendum on independence for Aceh. Nazar has been detained since last month.