Unilateral truce breaks down in Aceh<\/p>\n
Ibnu Mat Noor, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh<\/p>\n
The unilateral truce announced by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) on
\nNov. 4 broke down on Wednesday when GAM rebels and military
\nsoldiers exchanged gunfire in North Aceh, leaving five people
\ndead including one soldier.<\/p>\n
The military said it deployed soldiers in light tanks and
\narmored personnel carriers to patrol a concentration of rebels in
\na swampy area in Nissam subdistrict, North Aceh.<\/p>\n
The local military spokesman, Lt. Col. Firdaus Komarno, said
\nthe gunfight occurred while the score of deployed soldiers were
\nconducting their routine patrol in the GAM stronghold.<\/p>\n
\"We deployed a number of personnel but the operation was
\nconducted not to destroy but to separate civilians from rebels,\"
\nhe told The Jakarta Post here on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Sofyan Dawod, a district commander and spokesman for GAM, said
\nthe rebels were surrounded by soldiers who sealed the area around
\nPaya Cot Trieng in North Aceh.<\/p>\n
\"Not just me but more than 200 guerrillas and citizens have
\nbeen surrounded by a blockade by Indonesian soldiers for the past
\nweek,\" he told the Post by satellite telephone.<\/p>\n
Other senior GAM military leaders, including GAM commander
\nMuzakhir Manaf, were also believed to be in the blockaded area
\nbut they escaped.<\/p>\n
There was no confirmation of the casualty claim. Komarno said
\nexchanges of fire were continuing in Nisam but he had no reports
\nof casualties.<\/p>\n
But he did say one soldier and four rebels were killed and two
\nsoldiers wounded in nearby Central Aceh district on Monday.<\/p>\n
GAM declared a unilateral ceasefire for the fasting month of
\nRamadhan, which began on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Sofyan warned the violation of the ceasefire put peace talks
\nin limbo, and accused the military of not wanting to end the
\nprolonged conflict that has claimed the lives of thousands of
\npeople, the majority of them civilians.<\/p>\n
He said the rebels did not attack security personnel, only
\nfiring back at them in self-defense<\/p>\n
The military in Aceh expressed appreciation for GAM's
\nunilateral ceasefire, but said it would continue operations in
\norder to create a secure atmosphere for the Acehnese.<\/p>\n
\"Security restoration operations will continue as usual, as
\nthey are efforts to improve security during the fasting month,\"
\nsaid Maj. Gen. Djali Yusuf, chief of the Iskandar Muda Military
\nCommand overseeing Aceh, during a press conference here on
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
He said the military welcomed GAM's unilateral truce, but
\nadded that it had been deceived by GAM many times in the past.<\/p>\n
\"As evidence, GAM has used the current situation to resupply
\nits arms stocks, as happened on Tuesday,\" he said, adding that
\npast pauses in hostilities were also used by GAM to recruit new
\nmembers.<\/p>\n
Earlier on Wednesday, police said they had seized a shipment
\nof weapons in Besitang, which borders North Sumatra.<\/p>\n
Djali also expressed his disappointment with six Acehnese
\nleaders he said failed to represent the grievances of the people
\nof Aceh during a recent meeting with GAM leaders in Geneva.<\/p>\n
\"The six should have explained the true situation in Aceh so
\nthe peace talks scheduled for November 3 and 4 were not
\nunilaterally postponed by GAM,\" he said.<\/p>\n
GAM decided to delay the dialog after meeting with the six
\nleaders, who included Imam Sudja, Muslim Ibrahim and Hakim Nyak
\nPha, at the Henry Dunant Centre in Geneva.<\/p>\n
GAM and the Indonesian government have already agreed to
\ndiscuss further the implementation of special autonomy and direct
\nelections for Aceh governors and regents, as well as the
\nestablishment of a monitoring team to observe a planned
\nceasefire.<\/p>\n
The two sides have agreed to a number of ceasefires in the
\npast but none have held, with violations by both sides.<\/p>\n
GAM has been fighting for independence since 1976, pushed by
\nthe government's failure to fulfill its promises to the province
\nand rampant human rights abuses in the territory.<\/p>\n
The latest effort by the government to resolve the Aceh
\nconflict involves the provision of special treatment, authority
\nand fiscal balance under Law No. 18\/2001 on special autonomy in
\nthe province.<\/p>",
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