GAM surrenders 59 weapons<\/p>\n
Nani Afrida and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) began on Monday the third of four
\nphases of disarmament, handing in 59 weapons to foreign monitors
\nin a remote field in West Aceh regency.<\/p>\n
Upon completion of the weapons decommissioning on Thursday,
\nthe Indonesian Military and National Police will withdraw 6,945
\npersonnel from the province between Nov. 19 and Nov. 25.<\/p>\n
Dozens of local residents joined representatives from GAM, the
\nIndonesian government and the Aceh Monitoring Mission in
\nwitnessing the weapons being handed over at Kayee Uno soccer
\nfield in Krueng Sabee Aceh Jaya, some 70 kilometers from the West
\nAceh capital of Meulaboh. The coastal town was hit hardest by the
\nDec. 26 tsunami, which killed 130,000 people, some 30,000 in
\nMeulaboh alone.<\/p>\n
Due to poor communications, GAM had to change the venue for
\nthe weapons handover twice before choosing the soccer field. The
\ndecommissioning began at 12:15 p.m., over two hours behind
\nschedule due to the changes of venue.<\/p>\n
The weapons surrendered included various rifles, pistols and
\ngrenade launcher modules.<\/p>\n
\"I want to see for myself the disarmament process,\" said
\nSulaeman of Lamno near Meulaboh. He was among hundreds of local
\nresidents who observed the handover.<\/p>\n
Of the weapons surrendered, nine were rejected by the
\nIndonesian government while another five are in dispute.<\/p>\n
The next decommissioning will occur in West Aceh and Nagan
\nRaya on Tuesday, Southwest Aceh on Wednesday and South Aceh on
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
Under the peace agreement signed on Aug. 18, GAM has to
\nsurrender 840 weapons over four phases until the end of the year.
\nIn exchange, Indonesia has to cut its forces to no more than
\n14,700 soldiers and 9,100 police.<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, government negotiator in the Aceh peace talks
\nSofyan Djalil expressed optimism the third stage of GAM
\ndisarmament and troops' withdrawal would run smoothly.<\/p>\n
\"It seems that everything is going as expected,\" Sofyan said
\nafter a Cabinet meeting.<\/p>\n
Sofyan, who is the Minister of Information and Communications,
\nsaid the government was still waiting for GAM to submit the names
\nof its 3,000 members as a requirement for the disbursement of
\ngovernment reintegration funds for the former rebels.<\/p>\n
A former rebel will receive Rp 500,000 (US$50) per month for
\nsix months.<\/p>\n
The government disbursed part of the funds through regental
\nadministrations across the province ahead of Idul Fitri. The
\nmoney was channeled to GAM members through their leaders.<\/p>\n
\"But in the next disbursement, we want to give the money
\ndirectly to each former GAM member,\" Sofyan said.<\/p>\n
GAM has been reluctant to submit the names due to safety
\nconcerns.<\/p>",
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