Krueng Geukueh – An army massacre of unarmed protesters in Indonesia's Aceh province may breathe new life into the restive territory's independence movement, diplomats and residents said on Thursday.
Three days after troops on Monday shot dead at least 34 anti-government protesters in Aceh, one of the province's main roads was lined by banners demanding a vote on self-rule.
The "Referendum" banners flank the 300 km road linking the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, to the industrial town of Lhokseumawe, near the scene of Monday's massacre.
"All it's done is reinforce attitudes [against Jakarta]," one Western diplomat said.
A few red flags carrying a star and crescent – symbols of the separatist Free Aceh movement – also stand by the roadside. As well, 'Referendum' is painted on roads across Aceh, in the northern tip of Sumatra island.
Indonesia's military set out to crush the Free Aceh movement during the 1990s in a brutal reign that only ended last year. Even now, troops repeatedly pull down the banners and flags, but at night Acehnese re-erect them.
Riot police were on Thursday ordered into Aceh, one of the Indonesian archipelago's most volatile hotspots. But separatist feeling shows no sign of abating, despite heavy security.
"These flags have been posted here since April," said a driver. "They get taken down, then they get put up again."
Students in Krueng Geukueh, where the troops opened fire on Monday, say the death toll from the attack is likely to rise with people still in critical condition in hospital.
Thousands of frightened locals have fled the small town, about 1,600 km northwest of Jakarta. On Thursday, many houses were abandoned and locked up. Paddy fields were untended.
"The people in the houses here have fled because they were traumatised by what happened on Monday. They are very frightened," one student activist told Reuters.
Children have not gone to school for days. "I am scared of being shot," said one eight-year-old boy. But there was no sign of the military.
"Killing in Aceh, it appears, is still the order of the day...," the Jakarta Post said in an editorial, belittling the military's excuse that its troops had fired in self-defence.
The massacre comes just two months after President B.J. Habibie visited the province to apologise for the military's past reign of terror and to promise that it would not happen again.
More than 2,000 Acehnese are estimated to have been killed during the nine-year military campaign in the resource-rich and staunchly Moslem province of 3.5 million people.
Aceh, whose oil and gas wealth has long been vital for the Indonesian economy, has long battled central rule, first by Dutch colonisers and since independence against the Jakarta government.
Separatist calls have grown louder in Aceh since Indonesia offered the rebellious province of East Timor independence. East Timorese are to decide their fate at a ballot in August.
Thousands have died in the violence that has spread throughout Indonesia in a year of political and economic chaos. The country is due to hold its first democratic poll in more than 40 years next month with a general election.
Many political analysts say the desire in Aceh to split from Jakarta is not that strong, though many want greater autonomy. But the Jakarta Post said the massacre could change things: "The killing has already given more ground for the separatists' cause.
"The government's failure to resolve this incident quickly and satisfactorily will make full independence with Indonesia an increasingly attractive option for many Acehnese," it said.