Rayhan Anas Lubis/Swastika & Lyndal Meehan, Banda Aceh – A mass prayer for those killed, raped and abused by the Indonesian Armed Forces and government organised by pro-referendum groups in Banda Aceh on Wednesday, has ended in clashes with police.

Around 2000 people gathered for an istighotsah, a mass prayer held to ask for good fortune in times of trouble, at the Darussalam Statue in Banda Aceh, the capital of Indonesia's troubled northern-most province of Aceh on Wednesday. The people also gathered to express their desire that the future of the province be decided through a referendum.

The istighotsah itself went smoothly at the Darussalam Statue. Hundreds of motorised becak or pedicab drivers joined the mass for the prayers and ceremony.

Wearing white shirts, black trousers and sashes marked 'REFERENDUM' 12 people raised the UN and referendum flags while they sang Hikayat Prang Sabil (The Legend of the Sabil War).

The Shalawat badar and other passages of the Holy Koran were recited. The participants were carried away by the atmosphere and many women, children, and elderly people eventually cried listening to the speeches in their native language.

"We are here to pray for those who were killed for no reason, we pray for our sisters and mothers who were raped by the army," said one speaker. "The Aceh nation needs a country. We need independence. For that reason, let's fight for a referendum towards independence," the coordinator of the istighotsah cried out loud in the Acehnese language.

Following the completion of the prayers at around midday, the group began to leave and formed a convoy headed towards the city centre.

On Jl Daud Beureueh, directly in front of the Greater Aceh Police headquarters, police officers stopped the convoy. According to several eyewitnesses, police confiscated all pro-referendum and UN flags carried by the protesters. Two becak drivers were beaten by the officers while two reporters were prohibited from taking pictures of the incident.

"We confiscated 24 referendum flags, 31 UN flags and one banner of the Front for Aceh Referendum Struggle (Barisan Siaga Perjuangan Referendum Aceh)," said SuperIntendent Sayed Husaini, Head of Public Relations with the Aceh Police.

Commenting on the violence which erupted, Husaini said "Well, beating with rattan canes is a common way to disperse [crowds] and we had to confiscate those flags. Neither the pro-referendum nor the UN flags are allowed to fly. The referendum itself is forbidden, let alone the convoy for it. We were only preventing them from entering the city."