M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – The government is drafting a regulation that would likely shackle local political parties in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam.
Home Minister M. Ma'ruf said Tuesday the new regulation would stipulate that local political parties could only contest local elections. If the same parties wished to contest a general election they would have to affiliate with established political parties.
"(Under the regulation) local political parties in Aceh can only nominate candidates in polls to elect the governor, mayors and regents and their deputies, as well as local councillors," Ma'ruf told reporters after a Cabinet meeting.
The draft regulation will be presented to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for approval next week.
Ma'ruf said all stipulations in the draft regulation were drawn up to prompt local parties in Aceh to respect the territorial integrity of Indonesia.
He also said that the Aceh Independence Committee, the governor of Aceh and the Aceh office of the Justice and Human Rights Ministry would be in charge of overseeing local political parties.
Law No. 11/2006 on Aceh governance mandates the establishment of local political parties. The law, which was endorsed in July last year, was produced by the government as part of its commitment to implement the Helsinki Peace Accord, signed by the Indonesian government and representatives of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).
The peace agreement bound the Indonesian government to facilitate the establishment of Aceh-based political parties within one year.
The law gives Acehnese a greater say in governing the country's westernmost province, which has been ravaged by years of conflict and the 2004 tsunami that killed more than 150,000 people.
The law also gives Acehnese the right to manage their own natural resources, as well as guaranteeing the freedom of the Aceh government to implement sharia-based laws.
Justice and Human Rights Minister Hamid Awaluddin dismissed suggestions that the new regulation would curtail the clout of the yet-to-be-established local political parties, and thereby curb the political aspirations of the Acehnese. "This regulation is to implement the Aceh governance law, which is a manifestation of the aspirations of the Acehnese," he said.