New violence mars fragile Aceh peace<\/p>\n
Ibnu Matnoor, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh<\/p>\n
The killing of four Acehnese in the latest spree of violence
\non Saturday has increased the distrust between the government and
\nthe Free Aceh Movement (GAM), pushing their three-month-old peace
\nagreement closer to the brink of collapse.<\/p>\n
Two Acehnese burned to death when an unidentified armed group
\nset fire to 12 cars during a sweeping operation near the town of
\nTakengon in Central Aceh.<\/p>\n
A drive-by shooting near the town of Lhokseumawe in North Aceh
\nkilled another two.<\/p>\n
\"The peace agreement has reached a critical period,\" said Aceh
\nobserver Otto Syamsuddin Ishak of the Civil Society Alliance for
\nDemocracy (Yappika) in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
He said that despite the steady progress in implementing the
\narticles of the peace accord, mutual confidence on both sides was
\nrunning thin.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Military (TNI) and GAM blame each other for the
\nviolation of the cease-fire accord, showing little of the
\nconfidence building that the agreement demanded.<\/p>\n
In Takengon, a group of about 40 men stopped vehicles passing
\nthe village of Burlintang in Pegasing district, some 15
\nkilometers southeast of Banda Aceh, and eventually set fire to 12
\ncars and four motorcycles.<\/p>\n
It was not clear why they burned the cars after ordering
\neverybody inside to step out. Two people were killed in the fire.<\/p>\n
Spokesman of the Iskandar Muda military command, Lt. Col.
\nFirdaus Kamarno, said witnesses described the group as not
\nresembling members of either the police or the military.<\/p>\n
He suspected they were GAM. When soldiers and police arrived
\non the scene, the group had already left, Firdaus said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Amri Abdul Wahab, a senior GAM commander and a
\nmember of the Joint Security Committee (JSC) peace monitoring
\nbody, said GAM was not involved.<\/p>\n
Instead, he said the Takengon incident was likely the work of
\npro-Jakarta militias who had the backing of the military.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, some 10 kilometers east of Lhokseumawe in North
\nAceh, two people were shot dead by unidentified men in a drive-by
\nshooting.<\/p>\n
Amri said one of the victims was a GAM police officer,
\n26-year-old Azhar Z. Abidin. The other victim was identified as
\n24-year-old student Sayuti.<\/p>\n
Azhar, said Amri, was his adopted younger brother and was
\nabout to get married on Sunday. \"This morning, he should be
\nsitting with his family at the wedding reception,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The two victims were riding a motorcycle to shop for the
\nwedding, when an unmarked vehicle pulled up and shot them.<\/p>\n
The killer stepped out and drove away with the victim's
\nmotorcycle, while a terrified crowd stood witness to the crime.<\/p>\n
Otto suspected the Takengon killing and other recent incidents
\nseemed to follow a strategy designed to wreck the peace accord.<\/p>\n
\"There are obviously some parties who will lose out if the
\npeace agreement holds,\" Otto said, suspecting that these parties
\nbelonged to the government and the military.<\/p>\n
He also criticized GAM for failing to restrain itself from
\nraising the issue of independence, which TNI had used as the
\nreason for its continued heavy presence in the province.<\/p>\n
The peace agreement is essentially a cease-fire agreement on
\nwhich to negotiate peace. But GAM has been telling Acehnese that
\nthe accord could later lead to independence, while the government
\nsaid it signified the start of Aceh's permanent integration into
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
GAM has been fighting for the independence of its resource-
\nrich province for 26 years, in a war that has claimed some 12,000
\nlives.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/new-violence-mars-fragile-aceh-peace-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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