Kostrad declares war against GAM<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Chief of the Army Strategic Reserves Command
\n(Kostrad) Lt. Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu on Wednesday declared war
\nagainst Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatist rebels.<\/p>\n
\"We have prepared our (Kostrad) troops to fight not the
\npeople, but only enemies of the state.<\/p>\n
\"GAM is an enemy of the state. We must quell them all,\"
\nRyamizard said after presiding over the commemoration of
\nKostrad's 40th anniversary at the command's Airborne brigade
\nheadquarters in Cilodong, south of here.<\/p>\n
Ryamizard added that he was ready to dispatch his troops to
\nthe troubled province any time the Indonesian Military (TNI)
\nchief instructed him to.<\/p>\n
However he also admitted to have already sent two battalions
\nof Kostrad troops there.<\/p>\n
\"The fact is my troops are always ready to leave for Aceh,\"
\nRyamizard said.<\/p>\n
Currently, the TNI deploys some 30,000 troops in the province.<\/p>\n
The three-star general said it was GAM and not the (Acehnese)
\npeople who rejected the presence of the Indonesian military
\nthere.<\/p>\n
Speaking about efforts to improve the intelligence capability
\nof its combat units, Ryamizard said three and a half months of
\nintelligence training will be held starting on March 12. The
\ntraining will be held in cooperation with the Army's Special
\nForce (Kopassus).<\/p>\n
In the latest report of violence, three male bodies were found
\nat separate sites in East Aceh on Tuesday, outgoing spokesman of
\nPolice's Cinta Meunasah operation Sr. Comr. Kusbini Imbar told
\nThe Jakarta Post by phone on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The three were identified as Ibrahim Adjar, Nasruddin and
\nHendra.<\/p>\n
\"The three bodies bore gunshot wounds and severe cuts. We
\nsuspect that they were subjected to this violence by the rebels,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Several ambushes by alleged GAM armed rebels towards
\npatrolling police and military officers took place in North Aceh,
\nPidie and South Aceh on Tuesday and Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, three additional judges from Medan, the capital of
\nNorth Sumatra, are set to handle the trial of detained chief of
\nthe Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA) Muhammad Nazar on
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
\"We are ready to hold the trial on Thursday,\" one of the
\nappointed judges N.K. Simatupang told Antara on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Judges Azis Syarif and M. Taufik from the Medan District Court
\nhave also been named, with presiding judge Farida Hanoem from
\nBanda Aceh District Court and Alimusahadi of Sabang District
\nCourt appointed as panel members.<\/p>\n
Nazar, who has been detained since Nov. 20 last year for
\norganizing a mass congress to demand a referendum in Aceh, is
\nbeing charged under Articles 154 and 155 of the Criminal Code for
\nshowing hostile intentions\/treason against the state, which
\ncarries a maximum sentence of seven years in jail.<\/p>\n
The new Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Baharuddin Lopa,
\nissued decree No. M.05.AT.01.10\/2001 stipulating the relocation
\nof Nazar's trial to the Aceh capital after the defendant failed
\nto appear at the opening session on Feb. 21 in Medan.<\/p>\n
Lopa's predecessor Yusril Ihza Mahendra had previously ordered
\nthe trial be held in Medan due to security concerns and the fact
\nthat only one judge was available in Banda Aceh, namely Farida.
\n(02\/50\/edt)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/kostrad-declares-war-against-gam-1447893297",
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