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Indonesia Gears Up To Attack Separatists In Aceh
by Kazi Mahmood for IslamOnline
JAKARTA (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - News that civilians in Montasik sub-district in Aceh have attacked a military post on Friday prompted the Indonesian government to reinforce its armed elements in the province with 2000 additional troops.
The troops are said to be in preparation for possible attacks against Free Aceh Movement (GAM) bases and other training centers in the restive province.
Dozens of civilians identified as members of the separatist GAM attacked the military post and captured at least four soldiers.
Aceh police and military commanders confirmed the incident and said the attack took place while other officers were participating in the Friday prayers at a nearby mosque.
Some members of the group were seen escaping after the attack with military firearms. The military has deployed troops to the scene to hunt down those who have taken the weapons.
Sending a strong message to the separatists, Jakarta has decided to reinforce the soldiers in the region with the 2000 more troops. Acehnese civilians are already complaining that reinforcement troops are moving in and targeting GAM supporters.
Jakarta says the troops are sent to aid in the humanitarian mission to Aceh before the planned visit of President Abdurrahman Wahid to the region. The additional troops are said to comprise of soldiers from the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad), Army logistics unit and Air Force Special Force.
The dispatch of reinforcement troops came ahead of the one-day visit by Wahid early next week to the natural resource-rich province, which has long held separatist leanings.
Observers believe that instead of humanitarian assistance, the additional troops would be used to maintain peace and order, and to remain long after Wahid’s departure.
Tension in Aceh has been on the rise ahead of the planned visit of the President on December 19, as the death toll in a series of violence since Monday has reached nine.
Security measures have been stepped-up. Local residents claimed to have seen police and military personnel in civilian clothes patrolling in taxis and private cars.
The Indonesian president, the GAM warned, is under threat of a military plot to assassinate him during his visit to Aceh. The warning was carried in a letter to the press.
Dated December 8th, and signed by Abu Isnandar from the information office of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), it was addressed to the ambassadors of Islamic countries invited to accompany Wahid on the December 19th one-day trip.
“GAM intelligence has alerted us that there may be a [plot by] Indonesian military hardliners to assassinate the president during his visit to Aceh. We would like you to kindly inform the president of this [plot], so that he becomes aware.
“We have no dispute with Gus Dur, the dispute is only with the Indonesian government, because they still occupy our land,” the letter said.
The letter urged the ambassadors not to make the trip, “in consideration of the safety of the people of Aceh, and all of us.”
Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab has invited ambassadors of Islamic countries to travel with Wahid on the trip, during which the president is scheduled to mark the introduction of Sharia’ law in the predominantly Muslim province.
The GAM has rejected the idea that the enforcement of Islamic Law in the province will be a solution to the long conflict that has opposed the Acehnese against Jakarta.
A pro-referendum Acehnese said Thursday that Wahid’s plan to impose Islamic Law in Aceh will not solve the problems of the troubled Indonesian province.
Speaking from detention, Muhammad Nazar, chief of the Central Information for Aceh Referendum (SIRA), said what Aceh needs is a self-determination process.
"Go ahead if President Wahid wants to come to Aceh. But it is not necessary for him to declare the [imposition of the] Islamic Law [in the province]. That is not what the Acehnese want," he said.
Nazar, who has been under police custody since November 20th on charges of disturbing public order, further noted that the government should focus on the Acehnese demand for self-determination instead of the imposition of the Islamic Law in the predominantly Muslim region.
It would be useless to impose the Islamic Law in Aceh if the move is not followed by a political solution, he added.
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