Indonesian marines who were prepared to depart for Aceh stand in attention during an inspection ceremony at a naval base in Surabaya

By Kazi Mahmood, IOL Southeast Asia Correspondent

KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 (IslamOnline.net) - The restive province of Aceh in Indonesia is bracing for possible war engaging the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian Military (TNI) after the near breakdown of a peace deal brokered in Switzerland late last year.

Indonesia has moved thousands of military personnel, including marines and the Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) personnel who are heading towards the westernmost province of the largest Muslim country to beef up its military presence in Aceh, Antara news agency reported on Thursday, May 8.

There are already 26,000 army troops in the province where the GAM has been fighting for independence for resource-rich Aceh since 1976. At least 10,000 people have been killed, mostly civilians since then.

The GAM too has mobilized its forces, moving arms from its caches and readying its troops for possible clashes with the Indonesian military after only a few months of relative calm in the province.

The separatists has an estimated 10,000 men equipped with light weaponry that has been used for the past 26 years in a bloody guerilla warfare with the military.

The Acehnese separatists has always been a serious thorn for the Indonesian army, the latter finding it impossible to dislodge the GAM from its positions in the territory.

Observers in Indonesia says they do not believe the TNI will be successful this time around in eliminating the threat posed by the GAM, a group that wants the independence of the province from the Indonesian republic.

Under the leadership of Muzakkir Manaf, elected as GAM's supreme commander in 2002 to replace Abdullah Syafie who died in a military raid -- the secessionist movement had consolidated and recruited more members, mostly from East Aceh, the Jakarta Post said on Thursday.

Muzakkir, the Post said, is a top graduate from the Libyan special forces training in 1980s, served as Hassan Tiro's political military officer in Sweden before taking up the leadership post in Aceh.

Tiro is the supreme leader of the GAM and lives in exile in Sweden. His closest associates were those who signed the peace deal in December 2002.

The deal included a secession of hostilities and the surrender of arms by GAM members. The deal fell through after both the Military and the GAM realized there were going to be no end to violence in the province.

The GAM has blamed the Indonesian government for being “greedy” and for not offering a chance for peace in the province. The GAM decided to sign the peace deal after months of intense negotiations but warned it did not really think the Indonesian authorities, including the military wanted a peace deal in the province.

It was clear from the beginning that the GAM was posed to win any elections that is due to be held in 2004 or 2005 to determine which group would run the province after the peace deal is enforced.

GAM supporters told Islamonline.net that it was obvious the Indonesian authorities would never allow the GAM, which intended to convert itself into a political party, to win the elections in Aceh.

"Allowing the GAM to win the elections would be equal to giving in to the GAM, it is almost impossible for anyone else to win an election in this province which has given complete support to the GAM," said an Acehnese businessman who lives in Malaysia.

He told IslamOnline.net that a peace process and a political process in Aceh will not materialize without every parties showing trust, yet the Acehnese people do not really trust the Indonesian regime.

The TNI revealed that it would employ counter-guerrilla tactics in dealing with Aceh rebels, by first of all separating the people from GAM and cutting off the flow of logistics for GAM soldiers. It is estimated that the operation would be completed in not more than six months.

The military intend to launch urban warfare tactics using tanks and helicopters, most probably the like we have seen in Iraq recently, Manaf, another GAM supporter in Kuala Lumpur said to IslamOnline.

TNI had also prepared 13 scorpion tanks, 23 Navy amphibious tanks, 12 Navy tanks, along with two F-16 jet fighters, 4 Hawk-200, six Hercules carriers, one Superpuma and five Twinpack helicopters and six OV-10 Bronco military aircraft.

In a recent interview in February this year with the GAM leadership, IslamOnline.net learnt that there were no division within the GAM's ranks and that the movement would continue its drive for independence of the province.

Dr Backthiar Abdullah also told IslamOnline.net that the GAM would respect the peace treaty, since it was the GAM that actually initiated the talks. The GAM want to achieve its aims peacefully but it does not depend only on the GAM, he said.