Thailand claims to have detained GAM rebels<\/p>\n
Five heavily armed men arrested by Thai officials last month were
\nmembers of a rebel group fighting for independence in the
\nIndonesian province of Aceh, a senior Thai official said on
\nMonday.<\/p>\n
The five Indonesians, caught with two M-16 rifles, three AK-
\n47s and 1,200 rounds of ammunition, were members of the Free Aceh
\nMovement (GAM), whose three-decade rebellion in Indonesia's gas-
\nrich Aceh province has killed at least 12,000 people.<\/p>\n
\"Those five Indonesians who were arrested with weapons are
\nmembers of the Free Aceh Movement and they are now in the custody
\nof police in Pattani,\" Thai Defense Minister Thammarak Isarangura
\ntold a Senate debate.<\/p>\n
Thammarak gave no other details, but Police Maj. Gen. Paitoon
\nPattanasopon told Reuters from the southern province of Pattani
\nthe five would be charged with illegal arms possession, which
\ncould bring them up to 10 years in jail.<\/p>\n
\"During the interrogation, they said they were Acehnese, not
\nIndonesians,\" Paitoon said.<\/p>\n
The Thai navy boarded a Thai fishing boat in April after it
\nsignaled it was in distress and arrested the five men, all in
\ntheir 20s, off the southern town of Satun in the Andaman Sea.<\/p>\n
They were initially held in suspicion of piracy but the boat's
\ncaptain said they were not intending to rob it.<\/p>\n
An Indonesian embassy official in Bangkok said he could not
\nconfirm the five were GAM members but said they had refused
\nconsular assistance.<\/p>\n
\"I can't say 100 percent that they are GAM members, but I have
\nnever heard of an Indonesian citizen who denies help from the
\nembassy,\" the official told Reuters.<\/p>\n
A fourth round of peace talks between the rebels and the
\nIndonesian government were expected to end on Monday in Helsinki.
\nThe talks were revived after a huge earthquake and tsunami on
\nDec. 26 killed up to 160,000 people in Aceh. -- Reuters<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/thailand-claims-to-have-detained-gam-rebels-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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