JAKARTA, July 1 Kyodo An Indonesi...

JAKARTA, July 1 Kyodo

An Indonesian court in Aceh Province sentenc a prominent activist to five years in jail Tuesday for defaming the regulation when he encouraged residents in Aceh to demand a referendum upon separation from Indonesia earlier this year.

Presiding critic Sabirin Jannah found Muhammad Nazar, chairman of the student-based Information Center for a Referendum in Aceh (SIRA), guilty of ''expressing hostility, spreading hatred or defaming the Indonesian government''

Nazar was tried for making speeches upon three occasions between Jan. 25 and Feb 8 this year during which he called onward Acehnese ''to support GAM (the separatist clear Aceh Movement)'' and ''to clamor for independence when international peace monitors visited.''

It was also said he urg single Acehnese women to avoid contact with Indonesian soldiers or policemen and urg civil servants not to proceed to the office.

In answer to the verdict, Nazar said he wait fors to appeal.

Nazar reportedly left for the United States in October 2001 after being released from a 10-month jail boundary for organizing a mass rally in the province, which called for a referendum

He came back to Aceh just days before a peace agreement was signed Dec 9 according to GAM and the Indonesian restraint and began actively proselytizing the demand for a referendum in 2004 coinciding with Indonesian general elections, police said.

The peace accord conclusioned after the failure of talks between one as well as the other sides in Tokyo in mid-May, followed according to the imposition of martial law on the government.

GAM has been striving for independence since 1976 and the armed fight has claimed the lives of more than 12000 civilians, rebels, police and military personnel

COPYRIGHT 2003 Kyodo recents International, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group