Civilians involved directly in hunt for GAM rebels

Civilians involved directly in hunt for GAM rebels

Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam

The ongoing military operation in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD)
appears to now be directly involving the participation of
civilians, with around 1,000 villagers from Leupung district in
Aceh Besar regency being drafted in to join troops in hunting
down Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels hiding in the nearby forest.

Armed with daggers and other sharp weapons, the villagers
combed the forest. After six hours they discovered two alleged
GAM rebels, one of them already dead.

The two were said to be part of a group of armed separatists
who were involved in a clash with government troops on Sunday
that killed seven rebels and a police Mobile Brigade trooper.

The dead man was identified as Buyung, 30, alleged to be the
GAM leader overseeing Pulot village in the regency. The other
man, identified as Mahdi, 20, appeared to be fatally wounded.

"We found Mahdi lying on the ground near the river," said
Muzakir Sulaiman, the secretary of Pulot village.

The forest in question is located in the Lamteh hills, 14
kilometers east of Banda Aceh. The people traveled to the forest
in trucks and vans.

Public participation has been repeatedly called for by the
military since its major offensive against the rebels was
launched four months ago. In some places people have received
paramilitary training to help them defend their villages from GAM
attacks.

The Indonesian Military (TNI) has deployed 35,000 troops in
NAD to crush the rebels, whose number is estimated at 5,000. The
operation is supposed to end in November, but the TNI has asked
for an extension, claiming that it wants to ensure that the
Acehnese people can participate in next year's elections.

Some villagers joining the hunt said the move was aimed at
persuading GAM members to return to their villages and accept the
unitary state of Indonesia.

But they failed to explain why they were carrying sharp
weapons.

A villager, Cut Wan, said around 18 rebels remained in the
jungle, nine of them residents of Leupung. The mountainous
district contains six villages: Layeun, Meunasah Mamplam, Mesjid,
Pulot, Lamseunia and Meunasah Bak U. The military has listed the
district as a GAM stronghold.

Aceh Besar military commander Lt. Col. Joko Warsito claimed
that the initiative for the search came from the villagers, and
the military was providing backup.

The move, however, raised anxiety among the women whose
husbands were participating in the search.

"For us, it's not a good idea. We worry about possible
retaliation from GAM, who may abduct our husbands when they are
in the forest alone," a woman, Nursiah, 32, told The Jakarta
Post.

Some people said they believed the remaining GAM members had
already moved on prior to the search.

As of Tuesday, the military claimed to have killed 875 rebels
and arrested more than 1,800 others. The NAD Police revealed that
at least 319 civilians had been killed and 108 had gone
missing since the military operation began.

Separately, the secretary-general of the Indonesian Red Cross
(PMI), Iyang D. Sukandar, said the organization had not received
any news from either the military or GAM about the negotiations
for the release of two television journalists, Ersa Siregar and
Ferry Santoro, who were abducted by the rebels in June.

"We will only pick up Ersa and Ferry if the two sides strike a
deal on the terms for their release," Iyang told Antara , adding
that the PMI was not playing a mediatory role.

The rebels have asked for a cease-fire to make the release, a
condition that has been rejected by the military.