Army requests list of dissidents
Army requests list of dissidents
DILI, East Timor (JP): Army Chief of Staff Gen. R. Hartono
asked the authorities in East Timor, Irian Jaya and Aceh
yesterday to list people they believe are members of clandestine
groups.
"The listing will help the local governments watch people who
have links with clandestine groups," he told journalists after
meeting with local military officials.
Hartono is on a whirlwind tour to eastern provinces taking him
to East Timor, Irian Jaya and Maluku. This is his first trip
since being appointed army chief in March.
He met with top East Timorese military leaders for two hours
behind closed doors to discuss security issues in the former
Portuguese colony.
At the top of the meeting's agenda were underground activities
in East Timor, Irian Jaya and Aceh.
"Undercover activities exist everywhere, but the best
organized are those in East Timor, Irian Jaya and Aceh" he said.
The government faces low-level separatist movements in those
three provinces. The Armed Forces (ABRI) reports that armed
resistance by members of the secessionist Free Papua Movement in
Irian Jaya and the Free Aceh Movement is dwindling.
Indonesia's sovereignty in East Timor has yet to be recognized
by the United Nations.
Hartono said "many" people are involved in clandestine groups
in East Timor, but he decline the estimate number.
He classified East Timor rebels, or "security disturbing
forces" as the military calls them, into three categories, namely
"korsa" and "selula", which involve armed resistance, and
"clandestine". People involved in clandestine activities are the
most difficult to detect because they mingle with the public.
He said the clandestine activities can involve the supplying
of information to the armed resistance groups by both government
and private-sector employees.
Last month, Hartono told regional military chiefs that they
needed to list leaders of clandestine movements that could
undermine security in their respective areas.
Asked if ABRI has any plans to reduce its presence in East
Timor, the general said that would be possible only after it
completes its territorial tasks.
The Armed Forces has always maintained that most of its
battalions in East Timor are on civic or "territorial" missions,
such as helping residents build roads, bridges and teaching
locals modern farming methods.
"I have ordered them to implement the mission as best as they
can. If they need assistance, the ABRI headquarters is ready to
help. ABRI is increasingly successful," he said. (yac/pan)