Aceh brought to a halt after GAM calls for a total strike

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.