[Marinir] FREE ACEH MOVEMENT (G.A.M.) SEPARATIST GROUP

[Hong Gie]

----- Original Message -----
From: "IBRAHIM BRAMIJN" <i.bramijn@chello.nl>
To: <i.bramijn@chello.nl>
Sent: Saturday, September 13, 2003 10:48 PM
Subject: IBRAHIM ISA -- SELECTED INDONESIAN NEWS, 13 SEPT. 2003.

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FREE ACEH MOVEMENT (G.A.M.)  SEPARATIST GROUP

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government has prepared the necessary documents to have the Free Aceh
Movement (GAM) separatist group and its leaders placed on the United
Nations's list of terrorist groups, a government official says.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Marty Natalegawa said on Friday that
the government had enough evidence to convince the world that GAM had been
involved in a series of terrorist acts in the country.

"Everything is ready. If the government decides to take GAM to the United
Nations Security Council, we are ready now," said Marty.

GAM, which has been fighting for independence for the resource-rich province
since 1976, has been implicated in a number of explosions in the capital,
including the 2000 Jakarta Stock Exchange blast, two bomb explosions at the
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in April this year and at Cijantung
Mall in July 2002.

"There is no doubt that the organization has been involved in a series of
terrorist acts in Indonesia," Marty said.

Marty said the government had been considering the option for some time, but
had decided to postpone it pending the result of the ongoing legal process
against GAM leaders in Sweden.

"We choose to put the option on hold, pending the result from Swedish
authorities regarding our request to take action against GAM leaders," the
official said.

He explained that an organization or individual could be included on the UN
consolidated terrorist list at the request of any member country providing
there was no objection from other member countries.

Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers separatist group is one example of a rebel group
included on the UN terrorist list.

The government launched on May 19 a joint operation aimed at stamping out
GAM rebels from the country's westernmost province.

More than three months into the operation, government troops have managed to
incapacitate only 35 percent of GAM's 5,000 rebels.

There are currently 35,000 troops and 14,000 police personnel on the field
tracking down GAM rebels.

The government has also urged the Swedish government to take action against
GAM leaders Hasan Tiro, Malik Mahmood and Zaini Abdullah, who live in the
country and have Swedish citizenship.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri's special envoy Ali Alatas submitted legal
evidence against these men to the Swedish government earlier this year.

The Swedish government has promised to proceed with the legal examination to
determine whether the Indonesian government had a strong case against the
rebel leaders.

The inclusion of GAM on the UN terrorist list would put pressure on the
Swedish government to take legal action against GAM leaders, as the listing
would make it obligatory to do so.

Earlier, National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said the police had
included proof of GAM's alleged involvement in April's bombing near the UN
headquarter in Jakarta and at the airport in evidence submitted to the
Swedish government.

"We have presented new legal evidence, such as the possible involvement of
GAM rebels in the recent bombings in the capital," Da'i said.

He said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would submit additional proof upon
request from Sweden.
***