Exiled Aceh leader calls Indonesian rule absurd

JAKARTA (JP): Exiled Aceh rebel leader Hasan Tiro has dismissed the government's new autonomy legislation as irrelevant and called Indonesian rule in the troubled province "absurd".

In a rare interview with the Hong Kong-based Far Eastern Economic Review from his exile base in Sweden, Hasan said Indonesia had no right to govern Aceh, a province which has seen widespread resistance movement for the past two decades.

The exclusive interview will appear in the Review in its July 29 issue, to be published on Thursday, July 22.

In the interview, the uncompromising Hasan, who declared Aceh an independent state in 1976 but fled to Sweden three years later, calls Indonesia another name for the Dutch East Indies with new rulers, Javanese instead of Dutch.

He was referring to the former Dutch colony, which in 1945 declared its independence with a new name -- the Republic of Indonesia.

Hasan, who calls himself the president of the free Aceh state, puts the overall strength of Free Aceh Movement (GAM) forces operating in Indonesia's westernmost province at about 5,000. Security authorities have accused GAM of a wave of murders, ambushes and arson attacks.

The Aceh rebel figurehead also expressed his distrust in the next government, perhaps one led by opposition leader Megawati Soekarnoputri, whose Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) won the most votes in the June 7 elections.

"They are all the same. Uneducated fools," he said.

Separatist rebel actions have been on the rise since the Indonesian Military lifted its decade-long period of military operations, in which hundreds of human rights violations were reported. Both President B.J. Habibie and Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Wiranto have apologized to the Acehnese for the government's past mistakes.

The government has also introduced bills which allow greater autonomy to the provinces and which enable them to obtain greater shares of regional revenues, which in the past were controlled by Jakarta.

Two battalions of riot troops, mostly comprising police, were sent to Aceh in early May to restore order, following an incident in which 41 civilians were shot dead.

The Review obtained the interview with Hasan amid mounting concern that Aceh may be posing a serious challenge to the country's unity. The weekly reports TNI concerns that outside support made Aceh's rebels much more dangerous than the ragtag, poorly armed independence fighters of East Timor and Irian Jaya.

In one of the worst incidents so far, the Aceh separatist rebels shot dead five soldiers and wounded 20 others in a dawn ambush on Monday.

As violence continues, more than 70,000 people have taken refuge across the province.

Hasan has declined an invitation to a meeting in Bangkok on July 24 and July 25, which is aimed at paving the way for a peaceful settlement of the Aceh conflict. Acehnese figure Hasballah M. Saad told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday GAM president Hasan would be represented by other GAM leaders.

Aceh Governor Syamsuddin Mahmud is also unable to attend the forum, but has appointed four delegates to attend the event.

Speakers at the forum will include Benedict Anderson, a political expert from Cornell University, NGO activists Elizabeth Wong of Singapore, Indonesian human rights activist Carmel Budiardjo and Sydney Jones of Human Rights Watch in Malaysia.

Hasballah said he would not attend the meeting because its schedule coincided with a leadership meeting to be held by the National Mandate Party (PAN), in which he holds the deputy secretary post.

Aceh Police chief Col. Bahrumsyah had earlier said he would try to invite Tiro for talks.

"We want to know whether it is true that he wants to set up an independent Aceh through this way? If needed, we will invite him to deliberate on this," Bahrumsyah told Kompas.

In Lhokseumawe, 600 marines have arrived in the North Aceh main town to back up the existing riot troops sent to the province two months ago.

The marine soldiers, who embarked from Surabaya on July 13, gathered at Lilawangsa Military Headquarters pending a placement. The military command oversees North Aceh, East Aceh, Central Aceh, Southeast Aceh and Pidie, regencies which are prone to attacks from separatist rebel groups.

Antara reported that 300 marines would be posted in North Aceh, and 150 in Pidie and East Aceh each.

TNI chief of General Affairs Lt. Gen. Sugiono has said the reinforcements would focus their duties on safeguarding Aceh's coastal area, which he believed to be a route used for weapon smuggling.

Sugiono was responding to reports of rampant weapon smuggling. He confirmed the reports, saying security authorities had found illegal weapons.

Meanwhile in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, a group of women activists rallied at the local military command to protest recent harassment and abuses committed by security troops against Acehnese women. They demanded the military be withdrawn from Aceh.

Using batons and rattan sticks, scores of military and police troops forcefully dispersed the demonstration. The group were pushed back to a soccer field, located in front of the military headquarters.

Police insisted that the forceful removal of the group activists was legal, because the women did not give prior notification to the police as required by law. (49/rms/amd)