GAM accuses Jakarta of declaring war

GAM accuses Jakarta of declaring war

Agence France-Presse, Jakarta

Separatist rebels in Aceh have criticized Indonesia's decision
to extend military operations there as a "declaration of war,"
further clouding the prospects for peace in the troubled
province.

Top security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Thursday
announced the extension of military operations for six months in
the energy-rich province on the north of Sumatra island.

It is part of a five-point presidential decree authorizing
continued operations by the army -- among other measures -- that
will take effect for six months after the old decree expires next
Monday.

The decision is "undeniable proof that the government has once
again surrendered to military (armed forces) pressure", said
Sofyan Daud, the military spokesman of the Free Aceh Movement
(GAM), in a written statement received Friday.

"Just as the public breathes a sigh of relief following signs
of decreasing violence after dialogues in Geneva, the Indonesian
government has once again enforced its bloodthirsty lust."

On Thursday Yudhoyono said "armed disturbances" by GAM rebels
must be "annihilated" but added that "appropriate treatment"
would be given to those who surrender.

GAM has waged a war for independence since 1976.

Daud said officials in Jakarta had "mistakenly calculated
their adversary because of false reports from military commanders
in Aceh suggesting that they are highly successful".

He added: "It is ironic that while the public is hoping that
violence would cease in Aceh ... the government declares war on
the Acehnese people."

Indonesian government representatives and the exiled
leadership of GAM met last weekend in Switzerland and "agreed to
a period of confidence-building in which they will cease
hostilities and then move towards democratic elections in Aceh in
2004".

But in what rights activists labeled a setback to the peace
process, Jakarta on Tuesday officially inaugurated a separate
military command for Aceh, a unit which was disbanded 17 years
ago.

Activists say the revived command will only worsen violence in
Aceh, where more than 1,700 people were killed last year alone.
Almost 200 people have already died this year.

Separatist sentiment in Aceh has been strengthened by years of
human rights abuses by the military and the draining of Aceh's
natural resources.

Last year Jakarta granted Aceh greater self-rule and a larger
share of the revenue from its substantial oil and gas reserves
but ruled out independence.

In the latest violence soldiers killed a suspected rebel at
Sungai Keruk village in eastern Aceh on Thursday, Aceh military
spokesman Major Zaenal Muttaqin said, quoted by the state Antara
news agency.