Aceh rebels kill nine more people<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Amid reports of mounting separatist activities
\nin Aceh, Free Aceh guerrillas on Saturday killed nine security
\npersonnel and injured seven others in an ambush, Indonesian
\nMilitary (TNI) spokesman Maj. Gen. Syamsul Ma'arif said on
\nSunday.<\/p>\n
He said that about 30 rebels armed with weapons including a
\nlight machine gun and two M-16 rifles launched an assault on the
\nsecurity personnel, who were returning from deployment in Gunung
\nMalem hamlet, Setia Bakti subdistrict, about 30 kilometers to the
\nsouth of the West Aceh capital of Meulaboh.<\/p>\n
\"The guerrillas launched the assault when the security
\npersonnel were in an area they knew little about. The security
\npersonnel hail from the North Sumatra capital of Medan,\" he said
\nhere.<\/p>\n
He believed they could do little to protect themselves during
\nthe ambush.<\/p>\n
The dead were identified as Second Lt. Yazir, Sgt. Abdullah,
\nPvt. Supriyatin, Pvt. Jayakusuma, Pvt. Mulyadi, Pvt. Meidi, Pvt.
\nHaryadi, Sgt. (Police) Zainuddin Makam and Sgt. (Police) Fachrun.
\nInjured were Second Lt. Tommy Arief, Pvt. Bahrein, Pvt. Ade
\nIrawan, Pvt. Ibadai Harefa, Pvt. Karamaini, Pvt. Hanif and Sgt.
\n(Police) M. Yunus.<\/p>\n
The soldiers were from Medan's Zeni Division, while the police
\nofficers were from a unit of the Mobile Brigade in Meulaboh.<\/p>\n
\"The dead have been buried, while the injured are being
\ntreated in a public health center in Meulaboh and a hospital in
\nMedan,\" said Syamsul.<\/p>\n
Syamsul regretted the violence and said it would have a
\nnegative impact on the upcoming general election in the province.<\/p>\n
\"The Aceh rebels have intensified their activities to disrupt
\nthe elections.\" He added that TNI would continue in its efforts
\nto create a conducive climate for the elections.<\/p>\n
Last Tuesday, two security personnel, two transmigrants and
\ntwo health workers were killed and six others were seriously
\ninjured when violence flared up at a transmigration resettlement
\narea in Peudada, North Aceh.<\/p>\n
Separately, about 450 transmigrant families fled their
\nresettlement areas in Lhokseumawe on Saturday following
\nintimidation from Free Aceh members.<\/p>\n
Mahdi, chief of the North Aceh transmigration ministry office,
\nsaid the refugees left their residences in several subdistricts
\nin the regency after being frequently terrorized by armed rebels.<\/p>\n
\"They are now sheltered at two government buildings in
\nLhokseumawe. All of them are in good health,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said the transmigrants rejected offers to return to their
\nhomes but asked to be resettled in a safer regency where they
\ncould live and work in peace.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, about 15,000 residents from three districts
\nremained in public buildings in Peudada following raids against
\nthe separatist guerrillas by the military.<\/p>\n
There are fears they are running short on food supplies, which
\nare provided by the military, and some of them have hoisted Free
\nAceh flags.<\/p>\n
The people have been forced to seeks donations from passing
\nmotorists.<\/p>\n
Military setting<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Hakim Nyak Pha, a professor of law at Banda Aceh's
\nSyah Kuala University, accused the military of engineering the
\npolitical violence in an attempt to maintain its presence in the
\nprovince and cloak its past mistakes.<\/p>\n
\"All violence in Aceh has been engineered by the military to
\ncreate chaos so that their presence will continue to be needed in
\nthe province, and the Acehnese people will no longer demand its
\nresponsibility for human rights abuses it has committed in the
\npast,\" he said in Banda Aceh on Sunday.<\/p>\n
He cited Achmad Kandang, who was blamed by the military for
\nintimidating the people in Lhokseumawe. He said Achmad Kandang
\ndid not exist but was deliberately created to be the scapegoat
\nfor all the violence, terror and intimidation it committed.<\/p>\n
Hakim acknowledged the separatist movement's presence, but
\nsaid its numbers were too small to launch such extensive attacks.
\n(rms\/47\/01)<\/p>",
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