Former rebels uneducated on election
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Lhokseumawe, North Aceh
Hundreds of former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels in a North Aceh village are unsure whether they can vote in the April 5 legislative election.
They have a lack of information regarding the general election, including the number of contesting parties, voter registration and legislative candidates.
"Some say there are 35 political parties contesting the election, right?" a former rebel asked a group of journalists and military officers from Jakarta who had visited him on Thursday at a training camp in Reuleut village, Muara Batu subdistrict, North Aceh.
The man, who declined to be named, did not even know when the three-weeks of political campaigning had started and finished.
Similarly, Erwina, 24, who used to be a member of the inong balee (GAM women's armed forces) stationed in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, said that she knew nothing about the election.
She said the military authorities had told them about Indonesian patriotism, but "I was not taught about politics".
Just like many other Acehnese women, Erwina admitted that she was forced by separatist rebels to join GAM and undergo paramilitary training in remote areas early in 2000.
Nevertheless, she claimed never to have participated in GAM guerrilla attacks on soldiers. "I was just assigned as a chef," she said.
Local military commander Maj. Dwi Prasetyo Wiranto said that the ex-Acehnese rebels are allowed to vote in the camp.
But none had received a voter card ahead of the legislative election as the were not registered as voters.
"The ex-GAM members who surrendered to the Unitary Republic of Indonesia will be free to go wherever they want after the completion of this program on May 8," he said.
"Like other Indonesians, they also have the political right and will vote on D-day in this camp. We have already arranged it for them," Dwi claimed.
The training camp, home to at least 567 ex-rebels, was established by the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the local administration on a two-hectare site in December last year to train them after they had surrendered to the security authorities.
Wearing a navy blue training uniform, the Acehnese -- 556 males and 11 females -- have participated in a "character- building" program. They come from various backgrounds, ranging from illiterate to well-educated people, from teenagers to the aged, and farmers to scholars.
During the military training, the former GAM members learned about basic Indonesian principles, including the state ideology, Pancasila, the national anthem Indonesia Raya, as well as other patriotic songs.
Acting as mentors are dozens of military and government officials who pass on to them many other skills, such as tailoring and basic knowledge of electronic repair.