Jakarta – Lawyers from Aceh yesterday urged the Indonesian government to ensure that courts are run properly after judges fled the troubled province fearing for their safety.

"The government, in conjunction with the Supreme Court should immediately prioritise the posting of judges so that every court of justice in Aceh has a minimum of one panel of judges," said a statement from eight prominent lawyers and human-rights lawyers from Aceh.

The statement was read out by Mr Abdurrahman Yakob, from the Aceh Coalition of NGOs, after a meeting between the lawyers and Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid in Jakarta. It said that justice in Aceh was no longer functioning because of the lack of judges in many courts.

The deployment of judges in Aceh, especially in conflict zones, should be backed by a special fund and adequate security for the officials should also be provided, it said. An Indonesian panel consists of three judges.

Of the 18 district courts in Aceh, five do not even have a single judge. Eight courts were manned by only one judge, while three by two judges. One court had three judges and the one in Sabang, on Weh island off northern Aceh, had five judges.

Many judges and court officials in Aceh have fled their posts for fear of their safety, especially in areas where violence between separatist rebels of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and government forces is rampant.

Mr Jakub said the government should prioritise the functioning of five courts – in the capital Banda Aceh, and in the north, south and east Aceh as well as Pidie districts.

The lawyers also called on the government to hold ad hoc human-rights trials in Medan, the capital of the neighbouring province of North Sumatra, to hear cases involving human-rights violations in Aceh.

Indonesian authorities have already decided to move trials of Aceh pro-independence leaders and activists to Medan citing security reasons.

The Medan court is already trying a GAM deputy leader, Linggadiansyah, who is facing the death penalty on several counts including blackmail, possession of firearms and treason.

GAM has been fighting for an Islamic state in Aceh since the mid-1970s. Jakarta in April launched a military operation to rid the province of the GAM, following a year of inconclusive talks in Geneva and shaky ceasefires which failed to stem bloodshed in which more than 650 people have died this year.