Troops readied for security operation in troubled Aceh<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
At least two battalions of marines and 6,000 members of the
\nfeared Mobile Brigade (Brimob) have been told to stand by for a
\npossible security operation in Aceh should the April 25 Joint
\nCouncil meeting fail to salvage the peace agreement signed last
\nyear.<\/p>\n
On top of that, 654 marines grouped in the Rencong Sakti task
\nforce will be dispatched to Aceh on May 9 to replace the Rajawali
\ntask force that has been stationed there for the past one year.<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs
\nSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Tuesday that the government had
\nto prepare for the worst in talking to the Free Aceh Movement
\n(GAM) in Geneva, Switzerland, later this week.<\/p>\n
\"We have to anticipate the worst-case scenario should our
\nefforts to promote dialog bear no fruit,\" Susilo said when
\ninspecting the troops at the Marine Corps headquarters in
\nCilandak, South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
He was accompanied by Minister of Defense Matori Abdul Djalil
\nand Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Bernard Kent Sondakh.<\/p>\n
Susilo said the inspection was held to ensure that the
\ngovernment was providing soldiers with both moral and logistical
\nsupport should they be deployed to Aceh to maintain the integrity
\nof the state.<\/p>\n
\"I, on behalf of the government, convey to you that we have
\ndecided to pursue a peaceful solution to the Aceh issue. The
\nHouse of Representatives has also recommended us to do this. But,
\nof course, it is impossible for us clap with one hand,\" said
\nSusilo referring to the rebels' persistence in fight for the
\nindependence of Aceh, a resource-rich province at the northern
\ntip of Sumatra.<\/p>\n
Susilo's statement came just two days after President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri, who by law is the Supreme Commander of the
\nIndonesian Military (TNI), ruled out any military operation in
\nAceh should the peace talks hit a snag.<\/p>\n
Megawati, who is on a ten-day trip to Rumania, Russia and
\nPoland, told the Indonesian community in Bucharest last Sunday
\nthat the government was preparing a contingency plan rather than
\na full-scale military operation.<\/p>\n
The government and GAM signed a peace deal on Dec. 9 last
\nyear, under which both sides agreed to end all hostilities in the
\nprovince, where armed conflict between government troops and GAM
\nrebels has killed over 10,000 people, mostly civilians.<\/p>\n
GAM also accepted the special autonomy status as the sole
\nbasis for future peace talks and agreed to lay down its arms in
\nstages until they are fully disarmed by July 9, 2003.<\/p>\n
The government, on the other hand, agreed to halt all military
\noperations and reposition its troops from striking to defensive
\npositions. It also agreed to retrain Brimob personnel to assume
\nthe normal functions of the police as a law enforcement agency.<\/p>\n
Both parties, however, had failed to stick to their promises,
\nand agreed to return to the negotiating table to resolve the
\nviolations.<\/p>\n
The two battalions ordered to stand by come from Jakarta and
\nSurabaya in East Java respectively, while the Brimob members
\nwould come from the units headquarters in Kelapa Dua in Depok,
\nWest Java. One battalion consists of 650 personnel.<\/p>\n
Currently, there are more than 26,000 troops posted in Aceh,
\nbacked up some 14,000 police personnel.<\/p>\n
Iskandar Muda (Aceh) Military Commander Maj. Gen. Djali Yusuf
\nsaid earlier that he needed at least 50,000 troops to stamp out
\nthe 5,000-strong rebel movement from Aceh.<\/p>\n
Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Bernard Kent Sondakh said on Tuesday
\nthat he was also preparing between 14 and 17 warships to be sent
\nto Aceh to back up any military operation.<\/p>\n
Earlier, the Navy sent two of its three new warships, the KRI
\nLemadang and KRI Anakonda, to the troubled province, to join 10
\nships already stationed there.<\/p>\n
Later in the day, Susilo also visited Brimob headquarters in
\nKelapa Dua to inspect some 6,000 police personnel to be sent to
\nAceh as reinforcements.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/troops-readied-for-security-operation-in-troubled-aceh-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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