[Nasional-e] Unilateral truce breaks down in Aceh

[Ambon]

The Jakarta Post
Nov. 8, 2002

Unilateral truce breaks down in Aceh
Ibnu Mat Noor, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

The unilateral truce announced by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) on Nov. 4
broke down on Wednesday when GAM rebels and military soldiers exchanged
gunfire in North Aceh, leaving five people dead including one soldier.

The military said it deployed soldiers in light tanks and armored personnel
carriers to patrol a concentration of rebels in a swampy area in Nissam
subdistrict, North Aceh.

The local military spokesman, Lt. Col. Firdaus Komarno, said the gunfight
occurred while the score of deployed soldiers were conducting their routine
patrol in the GAM stronghold.

"We deployed a number of personnel but the operation was conducted not to
destroy but to separate civilians from rebels," he told The Jakarta Post
here on Wednesday.

Sofyan Dawod, a district commander and spokesman for GAM, said the rebels
were surrounded by soldiers who sealed the area around Paya Cot Trieng in
North Aceh.

"Not just me but more than 200 guerrillas and citizens have been surrounded
by a blockade by Indonesian soldiers for the past week," he told the Post by
satellite telephone.

Other senior GAM military leaders, including GAM commander Muzakhir Manaf,
were also believed to be in the blockaded area but they escaped.

There was no confirmation of the casualty claim. Komarno said exchanges of
fire were continuing in Nisam but he had no reports of casualties.

But he did say one soldier and four rebels were killed and two soldiers
wounded in nearby Central Aceh district on Monday.

GAM declared a unilateral ceasefire for the fasting month of Ramadhan, which
began on Wednesday.

Sofyan warned the violation of the ceasefire put peace talks in limbo, and
accused the military of not wanting to end the prolonged conflict that has
claimed the lives of thousands of people, the majority of them civilians.

He said the rebels did not attack security personnel, only firing back at
them in self-defense

The military in Aceh expressed appreciation for GAM's unilateral ceasefire,
but said it would continue operations in order to create a secure atmosphere
for the Acehnese.

"Security restoration operations will continue as usual, as they are efforts
to improve security during the fasting month," said Maj. Gen. Djali Yusuf,
chief of the Iskandar Muda Military Command overseeing Aceh, during a press
conference here on Wednesday.

He said the military welcomed GAM's unilateral truce, but added that it had
been deceived by GAM many times in the past.

"As evidence, GAM has used the current situation to resupply its arms
stocks, as happened on Tuesday," he said, adding that past pauses in
hostilities were also used by GAM to recruit new members.

Earlier on Wednesday, police said they had seized a shipment of weapons in
Besitang, which borders North Sumatra.

Djali also expressed his disappointment with six Acehnese leaders he said
failed to represent the grievances of the people of Aceh during a recent
meeting with GAM leaders in Geneva.

"The six should have explained the true situation in Aceh so the peace talks
scheduled for November 3 and 4 were not unilaterally postponed by GAM," he
said.

GAM decided to delay the dialog after meeting with the six leaders, who
included Imam Sudja, Muslim Ibrahim and Hakim Nyak Pha, at the Henry Dunant
Centre in Geneva.

GAM and the Indonesian government have already agreed to discuss further the
implementation of special autonomy and direct elections for Aceh governors
and regents, as well as the establishment of a monitoring team to observe a
planned ceasefire.

The two sides have agreed to a number of ceasefires in the past but none
have held, with violations by both sides.

GAM has been fighting for independence since 1976, pushed by the
government's failure to fulfill its promises to the province and rampant
human rights abuses in the territory.

The latest effort by the government to resolve the Aceh conflict involves
the provision of special treatment, authority and fiscal balance under Law
No. 18/2001 on special autonomy in the province.