ACHENESE STUDENT ACTIVIST GOES ON TRIAL

August 12, 2003 - (AP) A student leader who has campaigned for an independence referendum in Indonesia's Aceh province went on trial Tuesday, accused of undermining the government.

Cut Nur Asikin, who prosecutors had earlier alleged was the head of the female wing of the rebel Free Aceh Movement, was arrested May 20, one day after Jakarta ordered a fresh offensive in the westernmost province, where rebels are fighting for independence.

She faces life imprisonment if found guilty.

State prosecutor Muhibuddin accused Asikin of expressing hatred against the government through a series of public speeches.

Muhibuddin, who goes by a single name, said Asikin, 42, had once said Aceh was a "sovereign state whose freedom will soon come from the colonial government of Indonesia."

The indictment didn't mention earlier allegations that Asikin was the commander of Inong Bale, a 600-strong contingent of female rebels. It wasn't clear why prosecutors dropped those claims.

Asikin is known as an activist with the Center of Information for Aceh Referendum, a student-based group seeking an independence vote. The group's leader, Muhammad Nazar, was sentenced last month to five years in jail for defaming the government.

Asikin is among 224 suspected insurgents or sympathizers arrested since the offensive began. This figure includes five rebel peace negotiators who took part in talks with the government. The five have been charged with terrorism.

More than alleged 650 rebels have been killed and more than 1,400 others captured since the May 19 offensive started. The guerrillas claim that most of the victims were unarmed civilians and international human rights groups have accused the military of committing gross rights violations.

Insurgents have been fighting since 1976 for an independent state in the oil and gas-rich province of Aceh on the northern tip of Sumatra island. About 12,000 people have been killed in the past decade.

-Edited by Malcolm Scott