Troops told to retaliate against GAM<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) chief
\nLt. Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu told Kostrad troops being deployed in
\nthe strife-torn province of Aceh on Thursday, not to hesitate in
\nfighting members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).<\/p>\n
\"I have ordered my soldiers to remain on alert and to crush
\ndown any obstacles in their mission. Destroy them, have no
\nmercy,\" Ryamizard told reporters after attending a ceremony
\nmarking the 51st anniversary of the Jakarta Military Command in
\nKemayoran, Central Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Ryamizard made the comments in response to the death of a
\nKostrad soldier who was shot by GAM members in a gunfight in
\nPeureulak district, East Aceh regency, on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\"Kostrad troops have been deployed to Aceh on a civic mission
\nto assist the Acehnese, who have been experiencing flooding.<\/p>\n
\"They are there not to get involved in a war, but GAM have
\nattacked them,\" Ryamizard said, unable to hide his anger.<\/p>\n
Ryamizard said there were two battalions of Kostrad troops
\ndeployed to Aceh.<\/p>\n
The fatality, Chief Sgt. Wiriantoko, and some 90 Army troops
\nwere traveling on five trucks on their way to a humanitarian
\noperation in Kabu village, Peureulak district, when they were
\nattacked by armed GAM members. Besides Wiriantoko, a local troop,
\nPvt. Abdul Muis, was also killed in the attack, while eight
\nothers were wounded.<\/p>\n
Immediately after the ceremony, the Kostrad chief rushed to
\nthe Soekarno-Hatta International Airport to officially receive
\nthe body of Wiriantoko.<\/p>\n
Separately, Minister of Defense Mahfud MD said on Thursday the
\ngovernment welcomed the short truce agreement between the
\nIndonesian representatives and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM),
\nsaying that it would create more room for dialog to settle
\nproblems in the restive province.<\/p>\n
\"Basically, we accept the truce, but some points of the
\nnegotiation should be revised.<\/p>\n
\"We really think that this is a good improvement. However, we
\nwill not give any formal approval today (Thursday) because we're
\nstill waiting for the final draft from Geneva, as the talk has
\nyet to be concluded there,\" Mahfud said.<\/p>\n
He cited the demand by GAM that a general election, to be
\norganized by an independent body, be held in Aceh.<\/p>\n
\"It should be clear who the independent body is. If it's an
\ninternational organization, we will not accept it.<\/p>\n
\"In any case, what kind of general election they are demanding
\nis unclear,\" Mahfud said.<\/p>\n
Similarly, House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung
\nwelcomed the one-month truce agreement, saying that it was the
\nbest solution for the time being.<\/p>\n
\"With the one-month truce, we can buy time to once again
\nrevisit all the problems we've had during the humanitarian pause,
\nand finally find a solution for the restive province,\" Akbar told
\njournalists.<\/p>\n
He said the House would support the government's moves on Aceh
\nas long as they remained within a framework that included the
\nprovince as an integrated part of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Former Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono said the truce
\nagreement was a good compromise for the moment, but underlined
\nthat this should be accepted by all factions of GAM.<\/p>\n
\"The main point is to have a formulation that can be accepted
\nby all factions of GAM in an effort to enhance the special
\nregional autonomy being offered in Aceh,\" Juwono told The Jakarta
\nPost on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Juwono suggested that the government should have a control
\nmechanism in place for security forces so that the truce does not
\nbackfire.<\/p>\n
\"We should control our security forces to ensure that there
\nwill not be any troops violating the truce,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile in Banda Aceh, some 1,000 security personnel
\nattended the alert-call gathering led by Teuku Umar Military
\nCommander Col. Syarifuddin Tippe on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\"This gathering is part of the consolidation of security
\nforces here. It's also aimed at preventing possibilities of 'wild
\ntroops' running illegal operations beyond our chain of command,\"
\nofficer Syarifuddin told media on the sidelines of the gathering.<\/p>\n
A total of 28,000 military and police personnel are stationed
\nin Aceh, the officer said.<\/p>\n
\"We have no additional troops here and there will only be
\nreplacement troops for a routine tour of duty,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Tension, however, continued to grip East Aceh on Thursday
\nfollowing an overnight clash between GAM members and security
\ntroops in the Peureulak district, which left two soldiers dead
\nand eight others severely injured.<\/p>\n
The gunfight reportedly continued on Thursday in East Aceh,
\nforcing thousands of locals to flee their homes. No immediate
\ncasualties were reported, but the eight injured soldiers were
\nflown to Medan, capital of neighboring North Sumatra province,
\nfor immediate treatment.<\/p>\n
In Aceh Besar, an alleged rebel was shot dead during a
\nsweeping operation conducted by the police on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Two unidentified bodies were earlier found in South Aceh on
\nWednesday, police said.<\/p>\n
The deaths bring the toll in Aceh to no less than 47 this
\nyear. (02\/50\/dja\/edt)<\/p>",
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