Acehnese separatist leader still on the loose: Military

By Budiman Moerdijat

LHOKSEUMAWE, North Aceh (JP): The suspected leader of the Free Aceh separatist movement, Ahmad Kandang, was still at large and believed to be hiding under the protection of Kandang villagers, the military said here on Thursday.

Lilawangsa Military Commander Col. Johnny Wahab told members of the visiting National Commission on Human Rights that the security personnel were reluctant to raid the village, about two kilometers south of here, fearing it would trigger further violence between the villagers and the military.

"This is difficult for us because we do not want to be accused of violating human rights," Johnny said during the meeting at the regent's office.

Johnny said, however, that the troops in areas surrounding Kandang village had been put on alert.

Albert Hasibuan, who is leading the commissions four-member fact-finding mission, called on both sides to exercise maximum restraint and avoid further clashes.

"There are only 20 to 30 of them, but the problem is that they are protected by the villagers," Johnny said, adding that the alleged separatist rebels were believed to be armed.

North Aceh Police Chief Lt. Col. Iskandar Hasan said Ahmad and his alleged followers were armed with 10 to 15 rifles.

"The villagers have even prepared themselves with foodstuff," said Iskandar, who led the Wibawa Operation raid on alleged separatist targets on Sunday and caused the death of at least 11 people. A further 32 people were injured in the raids.

Johnny added that the Kandang villagers were only allowing foreigners to enter the area.

"The village is tightly-guarded by its residents and only two male and one female foreign journalist have been allowed to enter," Johnny said.

The military accused Ahmad as being behind the killing of seven off-duty soldiers and the kidnapping of two marines last week.

Patrols have so far recovered the bodies of six of the soldiers but have so far failed to locate the two marines.

When Albert asked whether the latest spate of violence was linked to alleged military atrocities in the past that have not been resolved in court, Johnny said: "...many people came to us to report (military atrocities), but they could not show enough evidence. It will be difficult for us to trace all events back to the 1980s."

The rights commission has said that at least 781 people were killed and thousands of others suffered from the decade-long military attempt to quash the separatist movement in the troubled province. The military began its antiseparatist operations in 1989.

Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto officially halted the military operations in August and expressed apologies to the Acehnese, saying the conduct of military personnel during the operations had "exceeded acceptable norms".

Basyir Ahmad from the Aceh NGO Forum, however, said on Wednesday that "apologies are not enough (for people) to forget the barbaric things the military has done to the Acehnese in the last nine years".

Later in the afternoon, the fact-finding team visited seven alleged members of the Free Aceh movement who were being held at the North Aceh police station.

Human rights commission member M. Salim said after the closed- meeting that two of the detainees were among the Acehnese illegal workers in Malaysia who were involved in the Semeunyih Prison unrest last year.

On Wednesday, police freed 133 people arrested during Sunday's raid.

The fact-finding team also visited a number of victims of the Sunday incident at the Lhokseumawe General Hospital. Among them were one-year-old Muhamad Nadir and his mother, Nurhayati, 18.

The baby was shot in the left ankle and his mother shot in the right wrist.

Nurhayati's mother, Siti Aminah, 60, died from bullet wounds on Tuesday.

The team was scheduled to visit Langsa, Lhok Nibung and Simpang Ulim districts in East Aceh on its way back to Medan on Friday.