INDONESIA: Accusations that Indonesia is muzzling freedom of expression and foreign media access in war-torn Aceh mounted yesterday as the death toll from a fresh government offensive to crush rebels reached 350.
The US government said a five-year jail term given to a leading activist in Aceh on Tuesday was harsh, and heightened the "apparent intimidation" of those trying to monitor rights abuses.
Muhammad Nazar (30) was convicted of spreading hatred against the state in speeches he made early this year that called for a referendum on self-rule.
Indonesia's recently imposed curbs on foreign media reporting of the war drew condemnation from the International Federation of Journalists, which called them a "blatant violation" of press freedom. A Foreign Ministry spokesman was not available to comment.
US State Department spokesman Mr Richard Boucher said Washington was deeply concerned over Nazar's verdict.
Some protesters have also received short jail terms elsewhere in Indonesia for insulting the president and her deputy.
"We regret that the Banda Aceh court handed down such a harsh sentence against Mr Nazar for exercising his right to peaceful political activity," Mr Boucher said in a statement.
The military reignited the decades-long Aceh war on May 19th after peace talks with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) collapsed.
The military yesterday said it had killed 325 rebels and lost 32 soldiers and police since May 19th, with some 48,000 refugees. GAM has said hundreds of government troops and scores of civilians have been killed.
Indonesia's armed forces chief asserted on Wednesday that the military had full control of Aceh. However, he said this did not mean operations would end before the six-month target deadline.