Ezra Sihite – A legislative fact-finding team has concluded that the recent deadly shootings in Aceh in the lead-up to local elections are politically motivated and should not be treated as normal crimes.
Azis Syamsuddin, a member of House of Representatives Commission III, which oversees legal affairs, said that although those attacked were not political targets, the perpetrators' motivation was likely political.
"I believe it's mixed. There's a political nuance, albeit indirect," he said. "In this case," he continued, "a factor at play is the sense of resentment felt by local residents against migrants, which we have to keep an eye on."
Azis, from the Golkar Party, said the team, which visited Aceh last week, would meet with the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) today to discuss its findings and recommendations for future steps to take.
The shootings began in October and have continued into the new year. In the latest incident, two construction workers from Java were wounded and another killed after an unknown gunman opened fire on a group of workers in Aceh Besar district on Jan. 5.
Prior to that incident, six people were killed in multiple shootings across the province since Dec. 30. While analysts suggest the violence is aimed at disrupting the elections slated for Feb. 16, some local authorities say the shootings are purely criminal in nature and motivation.
Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf, who has admitted the possibility of the violence being politically motivated, has insisted on pressing ahead with the elections, which have been repeatedly delayed over the question of independent candidates being allowed to run.
The Constitutional Court ruled last year that independents should be allowed to run, as is the case in all other provinces in the country, but that ruling is now being challenged by the camp of Zaini Abdullah, the gubernatorial candidate from the Aceh Party, the most powerful party in the province.
However, Irwandi, who is running for re-election as an independent, said he was confident that the motion would fail. "There is no way the Constitutional Court will overturn its previous ruling," he said on Saturday at an event to appoint poll monitors from his campaign team.
The central government has also weighed in on the matter, with the Home Affairs Ministry asking the Constitutional Court last Friday to postpone the polls so it could challenge a decision by the Aceh Independent Elections Commission (KIP) to ban the Aceh Party from fielding candidates.
The ban was imposed after the Aceh Party refused to register its candidates in light of a ruling allowing independent candidates to run.
In addition to the gubernatorial election, voters in 16 districts and cities in the province will also go to the polls to elect district heads and mayors. The elections were originally expected to take place in October last year, but the political squabbling has seen them postponed several times.
The latest postponement was made to allow two independent candidates, gubernatorial candidate T. A. Khalid and would-be Pidie district chief Fadhlullah, to register.
[Additional reporting from Antara.]