Amnesty for 500 Aceh separatists
Amnesty for 500 Aceh separatists
Muninggar Sri Saraswati and Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Bandung
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday signed a decree granting amnesty and unconditional release to members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), clearing the way for an immediate release of those now being detained at various prisons across the country.
The amnesty is a key component of the peace deal signed by the government and GAM on Aug. 15, which is expected to end the 30- year armed conflict in Aceh that has killed some 15,000 people.
State Secretary Yusril Ihza Mahendra told a press conference that the general amnesty and unconditional release would be granted to people who were involved with GAM, be it Indonesian nationals, foreign nationals or those who are currently stateless.
This means that some 500 GAM members, and leaders including Hasan Tiro, Malik Mahmud, Zaini Abdullah and Bakhtiar Abdullah who are now living in exile and assumed foreign citizenship, would also be eligible for the amnesty.
"With the issuance of the general amnesty and unconditional release, their social, political, economic and other citizenship rights are revived," Yusril said.
According to the Presidential Decree No. 22/2005, GAM members who have assumed foreign citizenships or who are stateless could regain their Indonesian citizenship within six months after the issuance of the decree, conditional upon them withdrawing their foreign or stateless status, and pledging allegiance to the Unitary Republic of Indonesia, Pancasila and the Constitution in front of the minister of justice and human rights.
But the decree stipulates that the amnesty would be automatically annulled if the GAM members committed treason in the future.
The decree states that GAM members being detained in prison for ordinary crimes are not eligible to obtain the amnesty or unconditional release.
The amnesty takes effect immediately. A total of 1,424 GAM prisoners and detainees are expected to be released on Wednesday, which is in accordance with the Aug. 15 peace deal, which stipulates that GAM prisoners must be set free within 15 days of the signing of the peace deal.
Some nationalist lawmakers have attacked the agreement with GAM as being too soft on the former rebels.
They have called on the government to give amnesty only to those willing to pledge allegiance to Indonesia.
Meanwhile, some 74 GAM members being detained at the Sukamiskin Penitentiary in Bandung, West Java, were scheduled to be released starting 6 a.m. on Wednesday. Since Monday, the prisoners had been preparing themselves and had put their bags and luggage outside their cells.
A brief ceremony will be held before their release.
The prisoners said that they were excited to be finally reunited with their families.
Kardiman, a GAM member at the Jantho Prison in Aceh Besar regency, said he was ready to return to society after being detained for more than 32 months.
But he was concerned for his safety when returning to his village, and called on the Aceh Monitoring Mission to provide security for released GAM members.