10 rebels killed as operation enters 62nd day

Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh, Aceh

Soldiers shot dead at least 10 rebels in several regencies on Saturday, raising the death toll to 485 two months after the military operation was launched on May 19.

Spokesman for the martial law administration Col. Ditya Soedarsono said on Saturday that the shooting of the rebels was the most recent development in the military campaign, which is entering its 62nd day of combat.

"In addition, 383 rebels have been arrested and 351 others have voluntarily surrendered to security authorities so far. But the military and the police have lost 35 personnel and the number of injured has reached 126," he said.

He said the military had confiscated 223 weapons and tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition from the rebels during the operation.

The police have declared 159 of the arrested rebels as suspects, and 60 are to go on trial immediately as their dossiers have already been submitted to the prosecutor's offices in the respective regencies.

Three rebels in Takengon, Central Aceh, were sentenced to five years' imprisonment for their active participation in the armed rebellion against the legitimate government.

Otto Syamsuddin Ishak, a sociologist at state-run Syah Kuala University in Banda Aceh, gave a thumbs-down to the "integrated operation", saying that it has yielded nothing but the deaths of rebels and innocent civilians.

He said that the majority of people were still living in fear of terror and intimidation from the conflicting sides.

He added that public administrations in regencies, subdistricts and villages were still ineffective, despite the appointment of military officers as district heads to replace officials who had resigned.

Meanwhile, Aceh Provincial Police Chief Insp. Gen. Bachrumsyah Kasman called on clerics and other Acehnese figures to help the Jakarta forces in the campaign to crush the separatist Free Aceh Movement.

"The military and the police cannot quell the armed rebellion without the help of the people," he said.

"Clerics in the province should explain to their congregations as to why the military has launched the military operation."