Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, Jakarta – Former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid said Thursday Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf should be held responsible for a recent incident in the province in which an Indonesian flag was burned.

"Irwandi has to be removed as governor," he said at a public discussion, titled Reflections on 62 years of Indonesian Independence, held at the headquarters of the People's Awakening Party (PKB).

"Irwandi has ignored the incident. He also won the election because people in Aceh were intimidated by his position in the Free Aceh Movement (GAM)."

The flag burning took place Wednesday in North Aceh regency, the same day some 150 national flags were lowered across Aceh, including in the provincial capital Banda Aceh.

Irwandi, who was a commander in GAM, had no prior experience in administration when he won the direct gubernatorial election in Aceh in December 2006, receiving about 39 percent of the vote.

Gus Dur, who is also chief patron of the PKB and a former chairman of Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama, said the incident was a threat to Indonesian unity.

He said authorities should not allow Irwandi to hide behind his ties to GAM, pointing out that former Aceh governor Abdullah Puteh was sent to jail for corruption despite his association with GAM.

"The Indonesian Military (TNI) must take action to find the culprits. What's the use of the TNI if it cannot be courageous?" the former president said.

Catholic priest Franz Magnis-Suseno, who also attended the discussion, said that exclusivism, sectarianism and separatism were problems that the country needed to solve. "Don't just let extremists force on us how we should behave," he said.

He said poverty, the relationship between the central government and the regions, human rights and corruption were other major issues for the country. "Bumpy rides are unavoidable for a nation that wants change," he said.