Convoys of people drove through the streets of Banda Aceh on Thursday, brandishing the flag of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), despite a request from Aceh’s governor.

Governor Zaini Abdullah had asked local residents not to fly the flag of GAM, which fought a decades-long insurgency movement against Jakarta that ended in 2005, until the administration finished studying a letter of clarification from the central government.

The processions on Thursday came as Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi visited the province to discuss with Zaini, local lawmakers and other stakeholders a local regulation that authorized the use of GAM symbols on the new provincial flag and emblem.

“We urge the central government to immediately designate the [GAM] crescent-and-star flag as the flag of Aceh,” one speaker, Cut Rahma, told a crowd of supporters in Banda Aceh on Thursday. “This is final. Don’t ever change it.”

She said that the GAM flag currently symbolized the dignity of the people of Aceh and was no longer a sign of separatism.

“Avoid the perception that the flag is a symbol of resistance against the NKRI [Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia]. We still love the NKRI. This flag represents the unity of the Acehnese people within the fold of Indonesia,” she said.

On Tuesday, the central government sent the provincial administration a letter of clarification on local Qanun (Bylaw) No. 3/2013 on the provincial flag and emblem.

The letter, dated April 2 and sent by the Home Ministry’s regional autonomy division, asked the provincial administration to clarify the local bylaw within 15 days to ensure that it did not conflict with national law.

The central government also requested that the flag not be raised while local officials clarified the reasoning behind the bylaw.

Meanwhile, hundreds of residents in Central Aceh held counter-demonstrations on Thursday, raising the red-and-white national flag.

Amirudin, the secretary-general of the Central Aceh and Bener branch of the Homeland Defenders (PETA), a pro-Jakarta mass organization, said that his convoy was held to support the central government.

“This is a pure voice from the people of Central Aceh. We oppose the establishment of the crescent-and-star flag as the flag of Aceh,” he said.

One local community figure and Red and White Movement member, Tagore Abubakar, urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to intervene. “If this is not immediately resolved, it could trigger horizontal conflicts and segregation among the people.”

The current controversy on the flag has divided people at the grassroots level, Tagore said. “As a proof, there have been several movements opposing as well as supporting Qanun No. 3.”

When meeting with representatives of the provincial administration and legislature, Gamawan said that the local officials were required to adhere to the legal requirement expressed in the letter to review the local bylaw within 15 days.

Participants at the five-hour meeting heard from the governor, several mayors, legislators, clerics, academics and members of civil society organizations.

Zaini said that the administration would study the letter.

“We will immediately submit the outcome of deliberations to the central government after our next meeting,” the governor said.

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