Farmer, civil servants, youths, militia rally against Aceh rebels

Farmer, civil servants, youths, militia rally against Aceh rebels

A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Takengon, Aceh

Tens of thousands of Central Aceh residents thronged Gelanggang
Musara Alun soccer field in Bebesen district on Thursday for a
rally against the separatist movement in the province.

Farmers, civil servants, youth activists and militia group
members were among the people who pledged loyalty to the state
before Regent Mustafa M. Tamy and Aceh Besar military commander
Lt. Col. Amrin.

Some of the crowd burned Free Aceh Movement (GAM) flags to
mark the biggest pro-government rally since martial law was
imposed in the province on May 19.

During the ceremony, representatives of the residents read out
a prepared statement, saying they were committed to maintaining
the unitary state of Indonesia.

In his speech, Regent Mustafa asked the people to uphold their
promise.

"The promise must be kept, as it has been made before God
Almighty. You will pay the price for betrayal," said Mustafa.

Some participants admitted they joined the rally upon orders
from community leaders.

Husni Kahan, a resident of Angkup district, said the head of
his neighborhood unit urged him to attend the ceremony.

"We were told of the rally on Wednesday. The neighborhood
chief said we had to join the rally. Everybody in my kampong had
to attend," Husni told The Jakarta Post.

However, Junawarman, an official at the regency administration
said that the local residents attended the ceremony as a
spontaneous expression of support for the government.

"They came here to show their support for the Republic of
Indonesia. They do not like GAM as it often incites riots in the
regency," said Junawarman.

The presence of People's Resistance (Wanra) civilian militia
drew the attention of the audience. Some 20 militia members,
representing some 15,000 others across Central Aceh, attended the
ceremony in red military fatigues. They wore red and white
headbands and carried sharpened bamboo sticks, reminiscent of the
country's independence struggle against the Dutch colonial
administration between 1945 and 1948.

The Wanra militia group was founded in the regency in 1987,
but had been active until it resumed activities a few months ago.

Musbira, a Wanra member, admitted that he was recruited three
months ago.

"I didn't have any choice. If I did not join the organization,
I was afraid I would be accused of sympathizing with GAM,"
Musbira recalled.

Musbira said that as a member of Wanra, he was not paid. He
had not undergone any martial arts training, but admitted that he
was trained by the military to use assembled weapons.

He said Wanra had also organized other activities over the
past month, including soccer and volley ball training.

"Sometimes, we attend a roll-call ordered by the military," he
said.

Indonesian Military (TNI) Chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto and
other top military officers have denied the presence of military-
trained militia.

Musbira said each village in Central Aceh, that is known as a
GAM-free zone, has at least six members of Wanra. There are
around 300 villages in the regency.

Meanwhile, a leader of Wanra in Central Aceh, Johan Gayo,
complained about the militia label given to his organization.

"We are not a militia group. We are here to help people
maintain security," Johan told reporters.

He said the Wanra members were not recruited by force, but had
joined of their own volition.