Aceh rebels serve prison terms in Central Java

Aceh rebels serve prison terms in Central Java

Nani Farida and Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh/Semarang

Under a tight security escort 54 convicted Free Aceh Movement
(GAM) members were transferred from Aceh on Thursday to prisons
across Central Java to serve their sentences.

The group is the first batch of 143 prisoners who will do
their jail time in exile across Java.

Wearing blue prison uniforms, the rebels -- all sentenced to
three years or more in prison -- were handcuffed and chained to
each other. Officers led them to a truck that drove them to
Sultan Iskandar Muda military air base in Blang Bintang, Aceh
Besar.

Shuffling to the truck, the rebels could only bow their heads,
with their hands holding their few belongings -- worn-out pillows
and mattresses.

They were then flown by an Air Force C-130 Hercules to
Semarang, the capital of Central Java.

Only a few had the chance to meet family members before
leaving.

"The transfer of the prisoners is due to legal procedures --
especially after we learned all of the prisons here are
overcrowded," Aceh Police Chief Insp. Gen. Bachrumsyah Kasman
said as he watched the transfer of the GAM prisoners.

"Most of the prisoners were former GAM commanders in the
field," he added.

Bachrumsyah said a second batch of about 89 prisoners would be
flown immediately to Java from the North Aceh town of
Lhokseumawe. They would include former GAM negotiators Sofyan
Ibrahim Tiba, Teuku Kamaruzzaman, Nashiruddin bin Ahmad, Amni bin
Ahmad Marzuki and Muhammad Usman.

Meanwhile in Semarang, Marsono, head of the provincial office
of justice and human rights, said that 10 of the 54 prisoners
would have to serve their prison terms at the Ambarawa town
penitentiary, 23 at the Pekalongan town penitentiary, while the
remaining 21 would be at the Magelang penitentiary -- all in
Central Java.

"The government initially planned to transfer two other female
inmates, but had to cancel that decision," Marsono told reporters
without elaborating.

To secure the situation in Semarang when the rebels arrived,
two platoons of Army soldiers equipped with M-16 rifles and
dozens of police personnel were deployed.

Marsono said the government had decided to send 79 of 89 GAM
prisoners in the second batch to the Nusakambangan maximum
security prison island, while the remaining 10 would serve their
terms at Semarang's Kedung Pane penitentiary.

"About 32 GAM prisoners will be in Permisan, 20 others in
Kembang Kuning, and the remaining 27 in Batu," Marsono said.

The government has said the exile was required to prevent the
rebels from encouraging separatism in their homeland.

Over 1,000 rebels have been captured or surrendered since the
Indonesian Military (TNI) launched its massive offensive against
GAM in May last year.

At least 1,300 people have been killed in the campaign. Human
rights groups say most were unarmed villagers caught up in
Indonesian Army operations.

GAM has been fighting for an independent homeland in the
province since 1976. More than 10,000 people have been killed in
the conflict.