Mega asked to pardon GAM rebels<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta\/Lhokseumawe<\/p>\n
Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Governor Abdullah Puteh appealed to
\nPresident Megawati Soekarnoputri on Wednesday to fulfill her
\npromise to grant an amnesty to Free Aceh Movement (GAM) members
\nwho had surrendered to the government.<\/p>\n
Puteh said after a meeting with Megawati here that some 2,000
\nAcehnese rebels had given up their struggle for independence and
\npledged loyalty to the state since the start of a military
\noffensive in the province on May 19.<\/p>\n
\"We would ask for an immediate amnesty and for economic
\nprograms to help former GAM members so that they will not regret
\ntheir decision to give up their struggle,\" Puteh said.<\/p>\n
The government announced early this month that it would grant
\nan amnesty to Acehnese rebels who surrendered to government
\ntroops since the start of what the government terms a joint
\noperation last May.<\/p>\n
Details of the amnesty, however, will only be spelled out over
\nthe next four to six months, including the criteria under which
\namnesty will be granted.<\/p>\n
The plan will also need the approval of the House of
\nRepresentatives before it is implemented.<\/p>\n
Puteh said he had also urged President Megawati to provide
\neconomic support for those GAM members who had surrendered as
\nmost of them, if not all, were unemployed.<\/p>\n
The President, according to the government, gave a positive
\nresponse to his request by saying that the amnesty process was
\nstill ongoing.<\/p>\n
He also said Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dorodjatun
\nKuntjoro-Jakti would visit Aceh soon to help design economic
\nimprovement programs for the province, where GAM rebels have been
\nfighting for independence since 1976. Over 10,000 people have
\nbeen killed since then.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Military (TNI) has deployed more than 40,000
\ntroops to the province since the imposition of martial law on May
\n19.<\/p>\n
The latest data provided by the TNI claims that more than
\n1,000 armed GAM rebels have been killed and close to 2,000 others
\nhave surrendered or been arrested during the six months of the
\noperation. The TNI also says it has seized hundreds of rifles
\nfrom the rebels.<\/p>\n
During the meeting with Megawati, Puteh also reported that
\naround 4,000 Aceh Muslim preachers would hold a gathering in
\nDecember, and hoped that Megawati would attend.<\/p>\n
\"The President agreed to attend the gathering, which will take
\nplace around Dec. 21, 22 or 23. This will be the first visit by
\nthe President since the imposition of martial law,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Megawati has briefly visited the war-torn province twice since
\nshe became president in 2001.<\/p>\n
If the visit goes ahead, Megawati will also inaugurate a
\nnumber of projects in the province, including bridges and housing
\ncomplexes for civil servants.<\/p>\n
Commenting on the amnesty policy, GAM spokesman for Pidie
\nregency Teungku Anwar Hussein said that it was the members of the
\nTNI who should be seeking pardons.<\/p>\n
\"It should have been the Acehnese pardoning the government for
\nthe unjust treatment it has meted out over the years,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, government troops continued to besiege a group of
\nGAM members in Tanah Luang subdistrict, Lhokseumawe regency,
\nNorth Aceh, on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The rebels were engaged in clashes with troops on Tuesday in
\nwhich four GAM members were killed and four AK-47 rifles and
\nthousands of rounds of ammunition were recovered.<\/p>\n
The dead rebels were identified as Saifuddin, 20, from Cot
\nGirek village; Nurdin, 25, from Alue Mirah village; Saleh, 30,
\nfrom Alue Panah village, and Dasari, 18, from Bombai village in
\nNorth Aceh.<\/p>\n
\"We have sealed off the area completely,\" the commander of the
\noperation, Col. Fransen G. Siahaan, told The Jakarta Post at the
\nscene.<\/p>\n
ibox<\/p>\n
Libya to assist TNI in fighting GAM<\/p>\n
Libya has promised to assist Indonesia with military equipment
\nand training in fighting against Acehnese rebels.<\/p>\n
TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said that Libya would send
\na number of trainers and instructors to help the TNI.<\/p>\n
\"The Libyan government will send instructors and support us
\nwith helicopters and other military vehicles,\" Endriartono said
\nduring a hearing with the House on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Some rebel leaders now fighting government troops in Aceh are
\nbelieved to have undergone military training in Libya. However,
\nduring a meeting with President Megawati in Tripoli in August,
\nLibyan President Moammar Khadafy denied the allegation.<\/p>\n
Khadafy told Megawati then that these people might have joined
\ndefense training programs for Libyan people, but it was never his
\ngovernment's intention to support the separatist movement.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/mega-asked-to-pardon-gam-rebels-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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