Banda Aceh – Residents in Indonesia's troubled Aceh Province began a strike Wednesday, refusing to conduct any activities or to hoist the red-and-white Indonesian national flag to mark Independence Day on August 17.

The strike follows a call Sunday by the Aceh Referendum Information Center, a student organization, for people to pray in mosques Wednesday for a solution to Aceh's problems and to ignore Independence Day.

An "Acehnese Action for Struggle" rally took place at the Darussalam Monument in the provincial capital Banda Aceh and about 5,000 students gathered there.

They hoisted the flag of the United Nations and the "Referendum Flag" made by a student organization seeking an independence referendum in Aceh. Late last year, the students organized a similar rally that attracted hundreds of thousands of Acehnese.

Last week, local authorities in Aceh officially banned the hoisting of the flag of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM), warning that violators would face "stern action." They also called on Acehnese to fly Indonesia's flag Thursday.

Earlier in the day, in an annual speech to commemorate Independence Day before the House of Representatives, President Abdurrahman Wahid once again said he might invoke "harsh actions" against separatism and social conflict "if all peaceful efforts fail to overcome the conflicts." On Wednesday, only government offices and the military and police headquarters hoisted the national flag in Banda Aceh. Most government offices and shops were closed, while few public or private cars or buses were seen on sown and conducted patrols.

For more than three decades, mainly under the rule of strongman President Suharto, thousands of people died and tens of thousands were displaced as Indonesian security forces fought independence guerrillas in Aceh. Frequent clashes between the military and GAM rebels have also led to an increasing number of civilian casualties and sporadic fighting continues despite the signing of a "humanitarian pause" between GAM and the Indonesian government in May to halt the violence.

[On August 16, AFX-Asia reported that around 5,000 students and civilians rallied at the Darussalam University campus near Banda Aceh on the eve of Indonesia's national day to demand a United Nations-supervised referendum on self-determination. Group leaders said the protest is planned for two days and they have issued statements urging the UN and international groups to intervene in Aceh to end "the political, humanitarian and security crisis in Aceh" - James Balowski.]