Aceh brought to a halt after GAM calls for a total strike
Ibnu Mat Noor, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh
Aceh was almost totally paralyzed on Wednesday in connection with the recent call by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) for a total strike in protest of what they called militarism in the province.
Public services in most towns did not function although many government offices, tightly guarded by security personnel, remained open while schools were closed. Most locals did not venture out of their homes as public transportation was not in operation. Most shops and traditional markets were closed in fear of fresh violence.
Only several pedicabs and cars as well as military and police trucks could be seen on the main roads in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh. Thousands of military and police personnel were stationed in strategic positions in the city.
The police deployed dozens of personnel to man state-run Damri passenger buses but they were not seen on streets because of the absence of passengers.
Only around 20 cars were parked in the parking lot at the governor's office and most civil servants did not go to work.
Mustafa, an attendant of a coffee stall in the city said many food and beverage outlets remained open but there were no customers.
"It is better for me to close because there are only a few customers," he said, adding that most residents in the city were afraid to go out because of GAM's call for a total strike.
Bus owners said they decided not to operate to avoid possible raids by both rebels and security personnel.
"We will halt operation for the three consecutive days because we don't want to take any risks," Kaharuddin, a bus company owner in Banda Aceh, said.
Early on Wednesday, a string of bomb explosions and gunfire were heard on the outskirts of the city but no casualties were reported.
A similar situation was also found in Lhokseumauwe, North Aceh, Langsa, East Aceh, Meulaboh, West Aceh and Takengon, Central Aceh.
Muhhamad Ibrahim, a resident of Lhokseumawe, said most people in the town did not leave their homes because they feared possible violence from GAM and security personnel.
"We risk being shot by rebels if we carry out our daily activities outside our house and by security personnel if they consider we are doing something to disturb public interests. So it's better for us to stay at home," he said.
GAM has called on the Acehnese people to go on a total strike from Jan. 16 through to Jan. 18 to protest what they call military repression and the government's plan to revive a military command in the province. At the same time, local authorities have called on the public to ignore GAM' call.
Security authorities have also imposed a shoot-on-sight order for those found disturbing public interests.
GAM has been frustrated over the security operation that has gone on for nine months. Besides claiming the lives of hundreds of rebels, the separatist movement has been curtailed.
At least four rebels were killed in separate exchanges of gunfire with security personnel in North and West Aceh on Wednesday. The local office of the Indonesian Red Cross in cooperation with a group monitoring the strike removed eight bodies from separate places in North, East and West Aceh. The deceased were sent to public hospitals in the regencies to be handed over to their families.
The local military said GAM's call for a total strike did not have a negative impact on daily life in the province and there were no indications that the local people accepted the call.
"GAM's attempts to disturb the situation and public interests have not borne fruit because most people ignored the call for a strike," Zaenal Mutaqin, spokesman for the military operation in Aceh, said.
He said GAM had made the call to seek support from the Acehnese "but they failed to achieve their target."
He said the military would keep conducting raids on GAM strongholds and patrolling rural and urban areas to maintain security and order. The military have deployed hundreds of intelligence officers to detect any possible infiltration of rebels into urban areas.