TNI starts Aceh pullout<\/p>\n
Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Lhokseumawe<\/p>\n
Around 800 Indonesian Military (TNI) soldiers left Aceh on Sunday
\nas the mass withdrawal of reinforcement troops from the province
\nagreed under the recent peace deal began.<\/p>\n
The troops, from two infantry battalions, set sail from Krueng
\nGeukueh port in Lhokseumawe aboard the KRI Teluk Sampit naval
\nvessel after six months of duty in the province.<\/p>\n
Iskandar Muda Military Commander Maj. Gen. Supiadin said that
\nabout 6,000 troops from 11 battalions would be pulled out of the
\nprovince in the coming week as part of the peace agreement signed
\nin Helsinki on Aug. 18.<\/p>\n
The withdrawal of the troops will take place in four stages
\nthat must be completed by Dec. 31, while the Free Aceh Movement
\n(GAM) must simultaneously surrender 840 weapons.<\/p>\n
Over the past few days, GAM has surrendered 279 weapons to the
\nAceh Monitoring Mission (AMM), but 30 of them were rejected for
\nfailing to meet the agreed standards and 23 others are still
\nbeing verified.<\/p>\n
\"This is a good start to the peace process,\" AMM chief Pieter
\nFeith said after witnessing the pullout of the troops.<\/p>\n
Sunday's troop withdrawal followed the departure of some 1,300
\ntroopers from the police's paramilitary Mobile Brigade on
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
As a goodwill gesture, the TNI had earlier withdrawn around
\n1,200 troops from Aceh a few days after the Indonesian government
\nand GAM hammered out the peace accord.<\/p>\n
European Union and Southeast Asian monitors grouped in the AMM
\nare overseeing the withdrawal of some 25,000 TNI soldiers and
\n5,000 police personnel from Aceh, the disarmament of GAM and
\nfurther steps to create lasting peace in the province, where
\n15,000 people have died in three decades of armed conflict.<\/p>\n
Two previous peace agreements were short-lived.<\/p>\n
AP reported that the departing troops chanted and waved their
\nhelmets in the air as they marched aboard the warship.<\/p>\n
\"I have been here 18 months, most of which time I have spent
\nin the jungle,\" said Pvt. Gatot Broto as he boarded the ship. \"I
\nam just very happy to be going home.\"<\/p>\n
But many remain wary because of the collapse of earlier
\naccords, and were closely watching to see if the military and the
\ninsurgents actually abide by the deal.<\/p>\n
\"The war with GAM is now over and I am looking forward to
\nseeing my family,\" said another soldier, Pvt. Suhardi. \"If we are
\ntold to leave, we leave. If we are told to go to war, then we
\nhave to wage war.\"<\/p>\n
TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, however, expressed
\nsatisfaction with GAM for showing its commitment to the peace
\nagreement.<\/p>\n
\"We thank GAM and feel surprised by their moves to comply with
\nthe peace accord,\" Endriartono said after attending a gathering
\nof military and police retirees in Jakarta on Saturday.<\/p>\n
But he warned GAM against displaying or possessing weapons
\nafter the disarmament process finishes at the end of the year.<\/p>\n
\"If that happens, the TNI will take the necessary legal
\nmeasures against them,\" Endriartono said.<\/p>\n
Efforts to end the conflict in Aceh picked up pace after the
\nDec. 26 tsunami swept the province, killing some 130,000 people
\nand leaving a half million others homeless in the province.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/tni-starts-aceh-pullout-1447893297",
"image": ""
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