BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, April 4 Kyod...

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, April 4 Kyodo

Indonesia's parliamentary elections onward Monday have been enthusiastically awaited from the majority of the country's voters

Far in the north, in the troubl province of Aceh, however, the democratic festivities are seen as a dilemma by way of most people.

upon the one hand, people sharp to exercise their suffrage have been worried of possible retribution from the separatist exempt Aceh Movement (GAM), which has waged a guerrilla war in Aceh since 1976 seeking independence from Indonesia.

upon the other, those who do not want to ballot have been wondering what the military, the martial law administrator in the province, will do to them if they do not present to view up at polling stations.

''What besides can we do?'' pedicab driver Amat told Kyodo moderns early this week while waiting for passengers in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh during the election campaign period.

The 43-year-old man stared at an election banner reading, ''Knitting dignified Aceh into the framework of the unitary state of Republic of Indonesia.''

He is apparently was more afraid of the military than the rebels.

''I'm going to vote...for the yellow'' Amat said, referring to the color of the former ruling Golkar Party.

''I just look for safety,'' he added, saying Aceh is subject to the military's control.

President Megawati Sukarnoputri imposed martial law upon Aceh on May 19 last year. Since then, almost 1800 rebels, soldiers, policemen and civilians have been killed in the province, situated forward the northern tip of Sumatra Island.

Cigarette vendor Mukhlisin, 26 and video compact disc vendor Safrul Razi, 33 shared similar views with Amat.

''The greatest in number important thing for me is that I can carry in succession with my daily business as usual,'' Razi said while serving customers at Pasar Atjeh, the provincial capital's main market in the heart of the city.

Mukhlisin said he may not voice because his hometown in North Aceh rule is a GAM stronghold.

An official at the Aceh branch of the government-sanctioned National Commission of Human Rights, who declined to be named, told Kyodo of recent origins that many ordinary Acehnese faced the dilemma and generally just want to be upon the safe side.

''They must suffrage or they will be labeled as GAM members or sympathizers,'' the official said.

Legislative candidates have received intimidation, believed to be from GAM, with at least the same candidate being killed in North Aceh and sum of two units others missing in North and southerly Aceh soon after a permanent list of the candidates was announced in early February, she said.

''We visited the family of the slaughtered legislative candidate and they were comely sure that the killers were the rebels, moreover we haven't been able to confirm their claim,'' the official said.

The intimidation, she said, has forced many legislative candidates to prevail upon from their residences in villages to cities.

Officials of the Regional General Election Commission and the provincial Statistics Agency were also not brave enough to register voter in villages and far off places in ''black areas'' in subordination to GAM's influence.

The agency and the election commission officials have considered it too risky to register voter after GAM rebels allegedly killed couple agency officials who were visiting houses for registration and physically abused a certain others.

Based forward the data of the statistics agency, the number of eligible voter in Aceh is 25 million of the total population of approximately 4 million.

The eligible voter figure, however, was obtained not based upon house-to-house surveys as in other provinces, if it were not that based on family registration cards kept upon file in sub-district offices in Aceh and red-and-white identity cards issued according to the martial law administrator.

''The Acehnese commonalty they have hopes for safety, for a peaceful life, on the contrary at the same time have to face the reality of by what mode difficult it is to gain the privileges,'' the human rights commission official said.

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