Latest news with #Acehnese
CNA
5 days ago
- Politics
- CNA
CNA Correspondent - Aceh: Keeping The Peace
The conflict in the Indonesian province of Aceh may have ended 20 years ago, but addressing human rights issues and ensuring equitable economic development for all Acehnese remain major challenges.
Barnama
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Barnama
Prabowo Steps In To Resolve Aceh-North Sumatra Islands Dispute
JAKARTA, June 15 (Bernama) -- A territorial dispute over four small islands in western Indonesia has reached the highest level of government, with President Prabowo Subianto stepping in to mediate rising tensions between the provinces of Aceh and North Sumatra. The islands – Pulau Mangkir Gadang, Pulau Mangkir Ketek, Pulau Lipan, and Pulau Panjang – became the subject of a controversy after the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a decree in April 2025 formalising a 2022 decision to reassign them from Aceh Singkil to Central Tapanuli in North Sumatra. The move triggered protests from Acehnese communities and civil groups, including the Aceh Students' Association of Greater Jakarta, who called for the decree to be revoked and for the ministry to acknowledge what they claimed was an administrative error. bootstrap slideshow Aceh Governor Muzakir Manaf, also known as Mualem, argued that the islands had long belonged to Aceh based on historical and administrative records, and suggested that the dispute might be linked to offshore resource interests. Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, confirmed on Saturday via a statement to local media that President Prabowo had agreed to address the issue personally. 'The president has taken over the matter of the islands' boundary dispute,' said Sufmi, a close confidant of Prabowo, as quoted by national news agency Antara. He added that a decision is expected next week. Meanwhile, Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian defended the reclassification, emphasising that historical records indicate the dispute over the islands had existed since 1928. While acknowledging the dissatisfaction among some quarters, he noted that legal avenues such as the Administrative Court (Pengadilan Tata Usaha Negara, or PTUN) remain available.
The Star
15-06-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Indonesian president Prabowo steps in to resolve Aceh-North Sumatra Islands dispute
JAKARTA (Bernama): A territorial dispute over four small islands in western Indonesia has reached the highest level of government, with President Prabowo Subianto stepping in to mediate rising tensions between the provinces of Aceh and North Sumatra. The islands - Pulau Mangkir Gadang, Pulau Mangkir Ketek, Pulau Lipan, and Pulau Panjang - became the subject of a controversy after the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a decree in April 2025 formalising a 2022 decision to reassign them from Aceh Singkil to Central Tapanuli in North Sumatra. The move triggered protests from Acehnese communities and civil groups, including the Aceh Students' Association of Greater Jakarta, who called for the decree to be revoked and for the ministry to acknowledge what they claimed was an administrative error. Aceh Governor Muzakir Manaf, also known as Mualem, argued that the islands had long belonged to Aceh based on historical and administrative records, and suggested that the dispute might be linked to offshore resource interests. Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, confirmed on Saturday via a statement to local media that President Prabowo had agreed to address the issue personally. "The president has taken over the matter of the islands' boundary dispute,' said Sufmi, a close confidant of Prabowo, as quoted by national news agency Antara. He added that a decision is expected next week. Meanwhile, Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian defended the reclassification, emphasising that historical records indicate the dispute over the islands had existed since 1928. While acknowledging the dissatisfaction among some quarters, he noted that legal avenues such as the Administrative Court (Pengadilan Tata Usaha Negara, or PTUN) remain available. Earlier this month, North Sumatra Governor Bobby Nasution visited Aceh to discuss a collaborative approach to managing the islands, including opportunities for tourism and other areas of joint economic development. Mualem, a former commander of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), welcomed Bobby but delegated further talks to provincial officials due to prior engagements in Southwest Aceh. The dispute has reopened old wounds regarding longstanding issues in Aceh, a province with special autonomous status, where matters related to governance and territorial boundaries remain sensitive despite a 2005 peace agreement. - Bernama
New Straits Times
15-06-2025
- Politics
- New Straits Times
Prabowo steps in to resolve Aceh-North Sumatra islands dispute
JAKARTA: A territorial dispute over four small islands in western Indonesia has reached the highest level of government, with President Prabowo Subianto stepping in to mediate rising tensions between the provinces of Aceh and North Sumatra. The islands – Pulau Mangkir Gadang, Pulau Mangkir Ketek, Pulau Lipan, and Pulau Panjang – became the subject of a controversy after the Home Affairs Ministry issued a decree in April 2025 formalising a 2022 decision to reassign them from Aceh Singkil to Central Tapanuli in North Sumatra. The move triggered protests from Acehnese communities and civil groups, including the Aceh Students' Association of Greater Jakarta, who called for the decree to be revoked and for the ministry to acknowledge what they claimed was an administrative error. Aceh Governor Muzakir Manaf, also known as Mualem, argued that the islands had long belonged to Aceh based on historical and administrative records, and suggested that the dispute might be linked to offshore resource interests. Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, confirmed on Saturday via a statement to local media that President Prabowo had agreed to address the issue personally. "The president has taken over the matter of the islands' boundary dispute," said Sufmi, a close confidant of Prabowo, as quoted by national news agency Antara. He said a decision is expected next week. Meanwhile, Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian defended the reclassification, emphasising that historical records indicate the dispute over the islands had existed since 1928. While acknowledging the dissatisfaction among some quarters, he noted that legal avenues such as the Administrative Court (Pengadilan Tata Usaha Negara, or PTUN) remain available. Earlier this month, North Sumatra Governor Bobby Nasution visited Aceh to discuss a collaborative approach to managing the islands, including opportunities for tourism and other areas of joint economic development. Mualem, a former commander of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), welcomed Bobby but delegated further talks to provincial officials due to prior engagements in Southwest Aceh. The dispute has reopened old wounds regarding longstanding issues in Aceh, a province with special autonomous status, where matters related to governance and territorial boundaries remain sensitive despite a 2005 peace agreement. – Bernama
The Star
04-06-2025
- General
- The Star
Couple publicly flogged in Indonesia for sex outside marriage
An Acehnese woman receives up to 100 time lashes of caning punishment in front of the public, for adultery and breaking Sharia law, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on June 4, 2025. - Photo: EPA-EFE BANDA ACEH, (Indonesia): A man and woman were publicly flogged 100 times each in Indonesia's conservative Aceh province on Wednesday (June 4) after they were found guilty of sex outside marriage by a court operating under strict Islamic law. Sexual relations between an unmarried couple is outlawed in Aceh, which imposes a version of syariah, the Islamic legal code. Indonesia banned sex outside of marriage in its latest criminal code in 2022, but that law will not come into force until 2026. The two were lashed in sets of 10 with a rattan stick as a small crowd watched on at a park in provincial capital Banda Aceh, and the female suspect was lashed by a woman, according to an AFP reporter at the scene. Three other suspects were caned a combined 49 times for alleged gambling and alcohol consumption. 'Today we are carrying out flogging punishment for perpetrators of adultery, alcohol consumption, and online gambling,' Banda Aceh Mayor Illiza Sa'aduddin Djamal told reporters. 'This becomes a moral lesson for the community at large. This flogging punishment becomes a gateway to repentance for them.' Medical services were on standby for all of those convicted. Rights groups have condemned the punishment as draconian. Yet caning retains strong support among Aceh's population as a common punishment for a range of offences including gambling, drinking alcohol and adultery. In February, two men were publicly flogged more than 150 times after being found guilty of sexual relations. Gay sex is outlawed in Aceh. The region started using religious law after it was granted special autonomy in 2001, an attempt by the central government to quell a long-running separatist insurgency. - AFP
