Aceh rebels arrested in Kupang

Police officers in East Nusa Tenggara province have arrested 20 of 25 alleged Free Aceh Movement (GAM) members trying to sneak into East Timor, Belu regent Marsel Bere said on Monday.

"I was informed by the police that 20 of 25 alleged GAM members were arrested in Kupang, while the remaining five are still at large," Marsel told The Jakarta Post by phone from his office on Monday.

The police however, had failed to seize any evidence to prove that they were involved in the drug trade as previously alleged, Marsel said.

East Nusa Tenggara's Wirasakti Military Command chief. Col. Moeswarno Moesanip claimed earlier that a total of 25 Acehnese in West Timor were selling drugs in the area to buy weapons and finance the struggle for independence in Aceh.

He also claimed that the 25 Acehnese were possibly on their way to East Timor, to study how the East Timorese achieved their independence from Indonesia.

East Timor separated from Indonesia in 1999 through a United Nations-sponsored referendum, 23 years after it was integrated into Indonesia in 1976. -- JP