Jakarta – The recent violence in Indonesia's troubled Aceh province may make it impossible for people there to take part in the June 7 elections, the head of the country's election commission was quoted Wednesday as saying.
Commission head Rudini said his men would visit Aceh on Thursday to determine if ballotting was possible, the Jakarta Post said.
"We will meet with community leaders, polling committees ... to discuss the deteriorating conditions there," Rudini said.
Voter registration has been sluggish in Aceh amid mounting calls for a referendum on self-determination, with commission figures showing only 39.6 percent out of 2.3 million eligible voters in the province have registered by this week.
The latest violence occurred Monday in the North Aceh town of Lhokseumawe when soldiers opened fire on some 2,000 demonstrators, killing at least 31 and injuring more than 100.
Residents in districts of Pidie and North Aceh who wish to register for the elections have reportedly been threatened with violence.
"If the security forces protect groups of people [who wish to vote], other groups [who are against the polls] may accuse them of being the traitors," Hasballah, an election commission member from the National Mandate Party was quoted by the Jakarta Post as saying.
But Hasbullah expressed his confidence in the polls being held there. "As long as there are participants, no matter how few, we will have vote from Aceh," Hasballah said.
The Aceh Merdeka (Free Aceh) movement has been fighting for an Islamic state in Aceh since the 1970s. Separatist sentiment has been strongest in districts where the military conducted heavy-handed operations against rebels for a decade until last year.
Human rights watchdogs and local leaders have accused the military of widespread human rights violations.
President B.J. Habibie in his first visit to the provincial capital Banda Aceh in March, promised an inquiry into human rights violations during the 10 years the province was under virtual military control.
He said civilian or military offenders would be taken to court, but brushed aside calls for a referendum on self-determination.