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Teachers in Aceh threatening to stage strikes

NU Online  ·  Ahad, 4 April 2010 | 08:22 WIB

Aceh Besar, NU Online
Thousands of teachers in Aceh Besar district are threatening to stage a strike if their demand for a house arrest for a teacher is not fulfilled.

"This is not a mere threat. This constitutes our struggle for the profession of teachers which has been ignored because our request that the court should not hold Ilham in a cell was not responded to," Chairman of the Indonesian Teachers Association (PGRI) for Aceh Besar, Saifullah, said on Sunday. />
Ilham (28), an auxiliary teacher at an elementary school in Lampeuneurut, Aceh Besar, was prosecuted on charges of molesting his student. Since he was taken to court on March 29, Ilham has been held in a cell of the Jantho detention house, Aceh Besar.

This is because Ilham`s status at the police investigation and prosecution levels is under house arrest. He is under house arrest with the guarantee of officials in Aceh Besar and of several teacher`s professional organizations.

About one thousand teachers have on Thursday taken to the streets and visited the higher prosecution office in Banda Aceh in demand for the house arrest of their colleague.

"The Banda Aceh district court chairman has agreed to fulfill our demand but the Jantho district court judges refused to comply with our demand," Saifullah said.

He said that teachers would halt their teaching activities until after Ilham was let free from the cell. (ant/dar)