Aceh,officially the Province of Aceh,is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northern end of Sumatra island,with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west,Strait of Malacca to the northeast,as well bordering the province of North Sumatra to the east,and shares maritime borders with Malaysia and Thailand to the east,and Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India to the north. Granted a special autonomous status,Aceh is a religiously conservative territory and the only Indonesian province practicing Sharia law officially. There are ten indigenous ethnic groups in this region,the largest being the Acehnese people,accounting for approximately 70% of the region's population of about 5.5 million people in mid-2023. Its area is comparable to Croatia or Togo.
The Free Aceh Movement was a separatist group seeking independence for the Aceh region of Sumatra,Indonesia. GAM fought against Indonesian government forces in the Aceh insurgency from 1976 to 2005,during which over 15,000 lives are believed to have been lost.
Banda Aceh is the capital and largest city in the province of Aceh,Indonesia. It is located on the island of Sumatra and has an elevation of 35 meters. The city covers an area of 61.36 square kilometers (23.69 sq mi) and had a population of 223,446 people at the 2010 Census,rising to 252,899 at the 2020 Census. The official estimate as at mid 2023 was 261,969.
The Post-Suharto era is the contemporary history in Indonesia,which began with the resignation of authoritarian president Suharto on 21 May 1998. Since his resignation,the country has been in a period of transition known as the Reform era. This period has been characterised by a more open political-social environment and grassroots economic improvement.
The Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM) was deployed by the European Union after the "Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement" had been signed on 15 August 2005 in Helsinki,Finland. The AMM is one of many missions under the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy.
Sultan Iskandar Muda International Airport,also called Banda Aceh International Airport,is the airport located 13,5 kilometres southeast of the capital of Aceh province,Banda Aceh. It is named after the twelfth sultan of Aceh,Iskandar Muda (1583–1636). This airport was formerly called Blangbintang Airport,referred to its location in a district with same name. This airport is listed as the 23rd busiest airport in Indonesia.
Irwandi Yusuf is an Indonesian politician who was the governor of Aceh. He was re-elected Governor in early 2017 after serving an earlier term between 2006 and 2012.
IPB University is a state-run agricultural university based in the regency of Bogor,Indonesia.
Anies Rasyid Baswedan is an Indonesian academic,activist,and politician who served as the Governor of Jakarta from 2017 to 2022. A student activist and political analyst before entering public service,he served as the Rector of Paramadina University before being appointed to be Minister of Education and Culture in Joko Widodo administration. He is also the founder of Indonesia Mengajar,a program that selects,trains,and assigns university graduates to serve in a one-year teaching mission across the country. He is the grandson of nationalist,journalist,and freedom fighter Abdurrahman Baswedan,and the cousin of Novel Baswedan. He is a candidate for President of Indonesia in the 2024 election.
The insurgency in Aceh,officially designated the Rebellion in Aceh by the Indonesian government,was a conflict fought by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) between 1976 and 2005,with the goal of making the province of Aceh independent from Indonesia. The aftermath of a strong military offensive in 2003 and the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami brought a peace agreement and an end to the insurgency.
Indonesia and Turkey established diplomatic relations in 1950. Diplomatic relations are particularly important because both are Muslim-majority countries as well as modern democracies. Indonesia has an embassy in Ankara and consulate-general in Istanbul. Turkey has an embassy in Jakarta,and honorary consulate in Medan since May 1996. Both countries are full members of the World Trade Organization (WTO),Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC),D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation,MIKTA and the G-20 major economies.
Hajji Azwar Abubakar is an Indonesian politician who served as Minister of State Apparatus Utilization and Bureaucratic Reform from 2011 to 2014. Previously,he served as Acting Governor of Aceh from 2004 to 2005 and Vice Governor of Aceh from 2000 to 2004.
An election was held on 9 April 2012 for the governorship and deputy-governorship of Aceh. Incumbent governor Irwandi Yusuf ran as an independent,while former exile and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) activist Zaini Abdullah competed for the governorship on behalf of the Aceh Party with Muzakir Manaf as running mate. The election was the second to take place in the devolved Aceh region since the post-earthquake/tsunami Helsinki agreement between the Indonesian government and the GAM. The previous gubernatorial election in Aceh had been held in December 2006.
Zaini Abdullah is an Indonesian politician and former separatist activist of the Free Aceh Movement in Indonesia who was elected as the governor of the province of Aceh in the 2012 election for a five-year period from 2012 to 2017. Elected with 56% of the vote,Zaini Abdullah is the second governor directly chosen by the electors of Aceh since the granting of restricted autonomy to the area by the Indonesian government in 2005. His predecessor Irwandi Yusuf,who was elected in 2006 for the period from 2007 to 2012,was the first governor chosen in the province by direct elections.
National Hero of Indonesia is the highest-level title awarded in Indonesia. It is posthumously given by the Government of Indonesia for actions which are deemed to be heroic,defined as "actual deeds which can be remembered and exemplified for all time by other citizens" or "extraordinary service furthering the interests of the state and people". The Ministry of Social Affairs gives seven criteria which an individual must fulfill,as follows:
- Have been an Indonesian citizen who is deceased and,during his or her lifetime,led an armed struggle or produced a concept or product useful to the state;
- Have continued the struggle throughout his or her life and performed above and beyond the call of duty;
- Have had a wide-reaching impact through his or her actions;
- Have shown a high degree of nationalism;
- Have been of good moral standing and respectable character;
- Never surrendered to his or her enemies;and
- Never committed an act which taints his or her legacy.
Wilayatul Hisbah is the Islamic religious police force responsible for the enforcement of sharia law in the autonomous region of Aceh,Indonesia. The origins of this force can be traced to 2001 when a special autonomy law was promulgated to allow for the state of Aceh to implement more elements of sharia law,which the Indonesian government saw as a useful way of decreasing local fervor for Acehnese independence. These officers have reportedly been patrolling streets since 2002,but the force was formally established in 2004,It was established at both the provincial level as well the district and municipality levels. The units were formed in response to an increase in "unmarried couples,Muslim women without headscarves or those wearing tight clothes,and people drinking alcohol or gambling,”which authorities perceived to have become more common following contact with Western ideas after foreign aid was provided after the 2004 Indonesian tsunami. It was described in a 2014 report as being a "voluntary" force.
Belgium and Indonesia established relations in 1949. Belgium has an embassy in Jakarta and an honorary consulate in Surabaya,and Indonesia has an embassy in Brussels,also accredited to Luxembourg and the European Union.
The province of Aceh in Indonesia enforces some provisions of Islamic criminal law,the sole Indonesian province to do so. In Aceh,Islamic criminal law is called jinayat. The laws that implement it are called Qanun Jinayat or Hukum Jinayat,roughly meaning "Islamic criminal code". Although the largely-secular laws of Indonesia apply in Aceh,the provincial government passed additional regulations,some derived from Islamic criminal law,after Indonesia authorized the province to enact regional regulations and granted Aceh special autonomy to implement Islamic law. Offences under the provisions include alcohol consumption,production and distribution,gambling,adultery,rape,sexual harassment,certain intimacies outside marriage,and certain homosexual acts. Punishments include caning,fines,and imprisonment. There is no provision for stoning;an attempt to introduce it in 2009 was vetoed by Governor Irwandi Yusuf. In 2016 Aceh processed 324 first instance court cases under Islamic criminal law,and carried out at least 100 caning sentences.
Mr. Sutan Mohammad Amin Nasution,also known by his birth name Krueng Raba Nasution,was an Indonesian lawyer and politician with an Acehnese–Mandailing background.
The electoral campaign for the 2024 Indonesian presidential election of Anies Baswedan,former governor of Jakarta,was officially launched on 3 October 2022 after Nasdem Party leader Surya Paloh officially declared Anies Baswedan as their presidential candidate for the 2024 Indonesian presidential election. In September 2023,National Awakening Party (PKB) joined Anies Coalition and endorsed PKB's chairman Muhaimin Iskandar as Anies running mate.
