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Indonesian Army Assassinates Separatist Military Chief In Aceh
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| GAM’s
Syafei watches a ceremony marking the 23rd anniversary of the
Muslim-affiliated movement, in Jeuneub, north province of Aceh.
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By IOL correspondent, Kazi Mahmood
JAKARTA, Jan. 24 (IslamOnline) – The Indonesian military shot dead the commander of the armed wing of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM), Tengku Abdullah Syafei, in a raid on his jungle headquarters, the military and rebels confirmed.
Aceh separatist rebels in Aceh accused Indonesian authorities Thursday, January 24, of tracking their slain military commander by inserting a microchip into an invitation for peace talks.
The Swedish-exiled leadership of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) said in a statement the microchip was embedded in an envelope containing the invitation from Aceh provincial governor, Abdullah Puteh, to Abdullah Syafei.
Syafei had this week been invited for talks with Puteh in the latest attempt to end the intractable 25-year-old revolt which has claimed an estimated 10,000 lives.
GAM in Sweden said one of Syafei’s bodyguards who escaped the raid saved important documents. "Something like a microchip was found in the corner of the thick envelope," he said in the statement.
Deputy commander, Muzakir Manaf, would take over GAM’s military operations until a new commander is chosen to replace
Syafei.
Twenty members of the army's special reserve unit Kostrad raided the hideout at the isolated hamlet of Sarah Panyang, 20 km (12 miles) east of the town of Sigli.
A photo shown to journalists by the military showed Syafei suffering wounds in the back of his skull and his chest.
Syafei, 54, was shot Tuesday morning in the thigh and chest during a 30-minute firefight with army soldiers in Cubo, Pidie regency, some 135 kilometers east of Banda
Aceh.
Syafei’s 50-year-old wife, Aisyah Umar, and 5 body guards were killed in the attack. They were all shot in the chest, rebel sources said.
The bodies of both Syafei and his wife were later identified Wednesday afternoon by their relatives at Sigli General Hospital.
Thousands of anxious visitors, local figures and journalists were at the hospital, amid tight security, hoping to view Syafei's body.
According to Syafei's family, his body will be laid to rest in his home village in Matang Glumpang Dua in Bireun regency, 220 kilometers east of Banda Aceh.
The death of the rebel leader, who was the military commander of the GAM, is likely to be a serious blow to the separatist group sources said in Jakarta.
The GAM came under severe pressure since President Megawati Sukarnoputri flatly rejected demands for independence and ordered a crackdown shortly after assuming office in July.
The raid was launched Tuesday morning at about 9 a.m. after the military received a tip-off about the rebel base in Cubo.
Supartodi said one of Syafei's armed rebels managed to escape during the 30-minute battle.
He said the military seized a satellite phone, three AK-47 automatic rifles, an FN-Minimi submachine gun and reading glasses believed to belong to Syafei.
Syafei's death came days after Aceh Governor, Abdullah Puteh, invited him for peace talks. But rebels rejected Wednesday the invitation.
"GAM has never considered the idea of having a dialog with the representatives of the Indonesian government in Aceh,” said GAM chief spokesman, Teungku Isnandar, in a press statement. “GAM will only agree to hold a dialogue between equals; namely at the level of national leadership."
Syafei entered the limelight as a rebel leader and commander of GAM's armed wing in 1998.
He joined GAM December 3, 1976, just a day before its establishment was declared by top GAM leader, Hasan Tiro, on Mount Halimun, Bukit Barisan, in Pidie. Tiro now lives in exile in Sweden.
The media had not interviewed Syafei for about one year, apparently due to tight security measures and surveillance of separatists. He made statements only through a spokesman.
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