GAM commander emerges from hiding, calls for end to unrest<\/p>\n
BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): The armed wing commander of the Free
\nAceh Movement (GAM), Tengku Abdullah Syafiie, made his first
\npublic appearance on Sunday after months of hiding, calling for
\nhis followers to \"support Aceh independence through a diplomatic
\nstruggle rather than putting up a war\".<\/p>\n
Attired in a military-style uniform, Abdullah addressed the
\nclosing of GAM's training at its base in a remote village deep in
\na jungle in the Nila area of restive Pidie regency.<\/p>\n
Attended by about 1,500 people, 500 of whom were GAM troops,
\nSunday's gathering showed a significant shift of stance from the
\nhard-line rebel separatists.<\/p>\n
\"Now Aceh's struggle for independence no longer depends on
\nguns or wars but more on diplomatic and political efforts,\"
\nAbdullah told the gathering.<\/p>\n
\"We're half way to Aceh freedom with the signing of the
\nhumanitarian pause in Geneva (on May 12),\" he added.<\/p>\n
The renowned commander also told the assembly of 500 troops
\nthat he would not arm them again with weapons, except for
\ncommanders in the field.<\/p>\n
Abdullah warned his personnel not to smear GAM's image by
\ncommitting actions, such as extortion, abduction or killings,
\nthat would hurt the people.<\/p>\n
Approximately 1,000 nearby residents, within a radius of 500
\nmeters from the site and including local community leaders, were
\ninvited to the ceremony under the tight guard of the GAM troops.<\/p>\n
Physical training for GAM personnel was held in an open field
\nthe size of a soccer field, complete with military-style
\nequipment.<\/p>\n
Immediately after the two-hour ceremony and lunch ended,
\nAbdullah went straight to his hiding place in a jeep.<\/p>\n
\"Abdullah looks healthy and is very kind to the people, as
\nusual,\" a local journalist, who witnessed the ceremony, said.<\/p>\n
Accord<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in Switzerland, Indonesian and GAM representatives
\nare \"strongly inclined\" to extend a truce accord past a Sept. 2
\ndeadline, the two sides said on Monday.<\/p>\n
Both parties, who held closed-door talks near Geneva on
\nSaturday and Sunday, said in a joint statement that a decision on
\nwhether to extend the humanitarian pause would be made before the
\nend of this month.<\/p>\n
Jakarta and GAM previously signed the three-month humanitarian
\npause accord in Geneva on May 12. It came into effect in Aceh on
\nJune 2.<\/p>\n
\"In the meeting, the Indonesian government also stuck to the
\nfact that there would be no withdrawal of security troops from
\nAceh,\" government representative Hassan Wirajuda said in a
\nstatement.<\/p>\n
Violence, however, continued to rock Aceh as three people were
\nkilled during separate conflicts in North Aceh on Saturday and
\nSunday.<\/p>\n
Police said two alleged rebels of the Free Aceh Movement
\n(GAM), killed in a gun fight in Syamtalira Bayu district, were
\nidentified as Ali Murtala, 18 and Bakhtiar, 20.<\/p>\n
On Sunday at noon, an alleged gunman named Muhammad Yusuf of
\nKutamakmur district in North Aceh was also shot to death during a
\npolice sweeping operation, newly appointed North Aceh Police
\nchief Supt. Abadan Bangko said on Monday.<\/p>\n
GAM's Abu Sofyan Daud, however, denied the incidents and said
\nthe three victims were unarmed when killed by the troops.<\/p>\n
The incidents have brought the death toll in Aceh to 38 since
\nthe implementation of the pause on June 2, while approximately
\n50,000 others have fled their homes.<\/p>\n
Separately, it was reported that chief of the New York-based
\nInternational Forum for Aceh (IFA) and prominent Aceh figure
\nJafar Sidik Hamzah went missing from his house in Medan, capital
\nof neighboring North Sumatra province.<\/p>\n
His relatives said the last contact was made on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\"He usually calls every two hours but we haven't heard from
\nhim since,\" a relative of Jafar's, who requested anonymity, said
\non Monday.<\/p>\n
Jafar was in Banda Aceh on July 22 to attend a seminar on
\nhuman rights and had visited his relatives in Aceh and Medan
\nbefore his disappearance. (50\/edt)<\/p>",
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