TNI to send more troops to troubled Aceh<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Military (TNI) is planning to
\ndispatch more troops to troubled Aceh.<\/p>\n
Lt. Gen. Djamari Chaniago, chief of TNI general affairs,
\nclaimed on Tuesday that the fresh troops were only part of a
\nroutine shift.<\/p>\n
\"There are not many and it is part of a routine shift,\"
\nDjamari told reporters, after attending the handover ceremony for
\nthe position of defense minister from Mahfud MD to Matori Abdul
\nDjalil.<\/p>\n
About 20,000 troops had been deployed in Aceh, including three
\nbattalions of combat engineers and 771 troops trained at the
\nBatujajar training center run by the Army's Special Force Command
\n(Kopassus) in Bandung, West Java, Djamari was quoted by Antara as
\nsaying.<\/p>\n
Deputy chief of the Indonesian Navy Vice Adm. Fred S. Lonan
\nsaid that the Navy had also deployed five warships to Aceh waters
\nin a bid to help prevent weapons being smuggled from other
\ncountries into Aceh.<\/p>\n
This deployment was also part of a routine shift and did not
\nconstitute a new policy. \"We are deploying the warships from
\nSabang, Belawan and Sibolga,\" Lonan said.<\/p>\n
Commenting on Thursday's killing of 30 civilians in East Aceh,
\ndeputy chief of the Army Lt. Gen. Kiki Syahnakri stated that it
\nhad been carried out by a rowdy armed group. The case was
\ncurrently being investigated, he said, without giving details.<\/p>\n
At least 30 people were shot dead by unknown gunmen at PT Bumi
\nFlora, an oil palm plantation company in Idi Rayeuk district,
\nsome 80 kilometers south of the capital of East Aceh, Langsa.<\/p>\n
I Wayan Karya, a spokesman from the Coordinating Ministry of
\nPolitical and Security Affairs, said on Tuesday that the
\ngovernment would evaluate the effectiveness of Presidential
\nInstruction No. 4\/2001 on the restoration of law and order in
\nAceh.<\/p>\n
\"We will evaluate the instruction as six of the steps
\ndetermined in the instruction have not worked as effectively as
\nexpected,\" Wayan said, after a coordinating meeting on political
\nand security affairs.<\/p>\n
\"This evaluation is needed because economic activities and
\nother services have to continue in line with the upholding of
\nsecurity in the area,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Present at the meeting, which was presided over by
\nCoordinating Minister of Political and Security Affairs Susilo
\nBambang Yudhoyono, were Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayudha,
\nDefense Minister Matori Abdul Djalil, Communications and
\nInformation Minister Syamsul Muarief, caretaker Attorney General
\nSoeparman, TNI Commander Adm. Widodo A.S., police Inspector
\nGeneral Comr. Gen. Ahwil Luthan and Jakarta Police chief Insp.
\nGen. Sofjan Yacoeb.<\/p>\n
Wayan disclosed that the separatist activities had
\nincreasingly been curbed, especially in major Free Aceh Movement
\ncenters, including Pidie, Bireun, and North, East and South Aceh.<\/p>\n
\"About 20 percent of the five areas, which used to be
\nclassified as black regions, have become gray areas,\" he said.<\/p>\n
After the introduction of the presidential instruction in
\nApril, violence in Aceh continued and culminated with the killing
\nof the above-mentioned 30 civilians.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, dozens of Aceh's public and religious figures left
\nthe province on Tuesday for Jakarta from Sultan Iskandar Muda
\nAirport in Aceh Besar regency.<\/p>\n
An official at Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) provincial
\nadministration announced that the figures went to Jakarta on the
\ninvitation of President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who is slated to
\nannounce the law on NAD at Merdeka Palace on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\"We were informed just in time to ask Aceh's public and
\nreligious figures to fly immediately to Jakarta as there will be
\na meeting with President Megawati at the presidential palace on
\nAug. 15,\" said the official, who asked not to be named.<\/p>\n
But only 22 of the registered 27 figures were able to fly on
\nTuesday as the remaining five were unable to obtain seats on the
\nflight, Antara reported. (tso)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/tni-to-send-more-troops-to-troubled-aceh-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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