Hunt for Acehnese rebels goes on<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): National Police chief Lt. Gen. Rusdihardjo said
\non Tuesday that the sweep for Acehnese separatists would continue
\ndespite reported abuses of civilians.<\/p>\n
Rusdihardjo defended the treatment of civilians by Mobile
\nBrigade (Brimob) special police troops on Friday, only a day
\nafter acting State Secretary Bondan Gunawan met with Free Aceh
\nMovement (GAM) military commander Tengku Abdullah Syafi'ie in
\nGleumpang Tiga district in Pidie, about 100 kilometers east of
\nthe provincial capital Banda Aceh.<\/p>\n
\"Brimob officers who conducted the sweep did not make a
\nmistake. It was just a misunderstanding. I will find out what
\nreally happened,\" Rusdihardjo said at the Police Academy in South
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
He said the police troops did not aim to mar the historic
\nmeeting between Bondan and Syafi'ie, but were searching for
\nrebels.<\/p>\n
But he conceded the search was ill-timed.<\/p>\n
\"The operation should not have been conducted directly after
\nthe meeting. They did not ask for permission from their
\nsuperiors.\"<\/p>\n
There were conflicting statements among government officials
\non the treatment of villagers living near the area where Bondan
\nand Syafi'ie met.<\/p>\n
Quoting witnesses, State Minister of Human Rights Hasballah M.
\nSaad, who is Acehnese, said on Monday there was abuse of
\ncivilians. But Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono, denied there
\nwas an attack, but said the President had ordered Minister of
\nHome Affairs Surjadi Soedirdja to investigate the incident.<\/p>\n
Hasballah said the abuse was \"a betrayal\" of the Acehnese who
\nwere invited to the peace talks.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday morning, an antirebel raid jointly conducted by the
\npolice and military in Mutiara district in Pidie left a local
\nresident, identified as Ismail, 35, dead.<\/p>\n
A staff member at Sigli General Hospital said that Ismail
\nsuffered gunshot wounds to the chest.<\/p>\n
The fatality brings the death toll to 12 since the historic
\nmeeting last Thursday. The Commission for Missing Persons and
\nVictims of Violence (Kontras) reported last week the conflict in
\nAceh has claimed at least 230 lives, most of them civilians, in
\nthe past three months.<\/p>\n
The dead included two Mobile Brigade troops, Pvt. Rahmad
\nHidayat and Pvt. Marwah, who were killed in a gunfight in Jeumpa-
\nPeusangan district, North Aceh, on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Marines<\/p>\n
President Abdurrahman Wahid renewed his call for peace by
\nextending an offer to GAM members to join the Indonesian Military
\n(TNI).<\/p>\n
\"GAM could join TNI if peace returns and they pass the tests,\"
\nAbdurrahman said on Tuesday in a gathering with about 1,000
\nmarines at the corps' headquarters in Cilandak, South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman said the government would continue peace talks
\nwith the Acehnese rebels and told the marines to help the
\ngovernment's efforts.<\/p>\n
He said he received reports on the killing of the two Brimob
\ntroops on Sunday and the fatal attack on six marines on Jan. 24
\nthis year.<\/p>\n
\"I understand how you feel, but let's search for the offenders
\nand bring them to justice,\" the President said.<\/p>\n
Accompanying the President were First Lady Sinta Nuriyah, Vice
\nPresident Megawati Soekarnoputri and her husband Taufik Kiemas,
\nTNI chief Adm. Widodo A.S. and Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Achmad
\nSoetjipto.<\/p>\n
Marines commander Maj. Gen. Harry Triono said the corps
\npersonnel would be expanded to 20,000 in five years from its
\npresent figure of 13,000. (50\/51\/ylt\/prb\/edt)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hunt-for-acehnese-rebels-goes-on-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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