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.