GAM members come down from the hills, out of the jungle

Nani Afrida and Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh/Bandung

At least 60 members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) have come down from their Manggamat mountain hideout, making this the biggest group so far to come out of the jungle in the wake of the Helsinki peace agreement signed last week.

The former insurgents have been trickling into Simpang Tiga village, Central Kluet district, South Aceh, since last week and are now staying in houses in the area, a local district official said on Tuesday.

The GAM fighters have been mingling and even drinking coffee with Indonesian troops at the local Army outpost, said the chief of Central Kluet district, Muhammad Nasir. Among the GAM members who have come in from the cold are Kamil, the local GAM operations commander, and Sudi Nyak Midun, a senior GAM officer.

"They came down here from Manggamat without any weapons. They are not saying where they have stashed the weapons and insist they will only hand them over after they are ordered to do so by their superiors," said Nasir, as quoted by Antara.

For the time being, the GAM fighters are being fed by local people, who are elated at the Helsinki peace deal.

Military officers welcomed the reports on the arrival of the GAM members in Central Kluet district, and the fact that they seemed to be getting on well with the soldiers stationed there. "That is beautiful," military spokesman Lt. Colonel Ahmad Husein told Deutsche Presse-Agentur from Banda Aceh. "That's what we are longing for."

While GAM members in Manggamat were looking forward to resuming normal lives, former GAM member Syamsuddin bin Husain in Aceh Besar regency said he had no idea what he would do now that he was released from prison.

Syamsuddin, 36, was released from Jantho Prison in Aceh Besar a few days ago after receiving a cut in his sentence to mark Indonesian Independence Day on Aug. 17. "I used to sell rice and coffee," he said.

Syamsuddin has been informed that he will be given land and a house by the government, but says he doesn't expect too much.

"If the government gives me land and a house, I will be grateful. But, if they don't, so be it," he said smiling.

As part of the Helsinki peace deal, the government has said it will give houses and land to the 3,000 to 4,000 former GAM insurgents that will amnestied by the government.

"We have proposed a Rp 3 trillion reintegration fund to the government," said acting Aceh governor, Azwar Abubakar.

The money would not only be disbursed to former GAM fighters, but also to another 15,000 Aceh residents who fell victim to the prolonged conflict. The funds would be mainly spent on the repair of damaged and burned schools, and other public facilities.

The provincial government is now collecting data on GAM members that are likely to be amnestied, mapping out the land they will be granted and arranging the technical aspects of the reintegration program.

In Bandung, still in handcuffs, 56 GAM members who had previously been incarcerated in different prisons in West Java were moved to Sukamiskin Prison in Bandung, the West Java capital.

This was despite the fact that Minister of Justice and Human Rights Hamid Awaludin had earlier promised that GAM prisoners would be treated with dignity.

"I don't know why they are in handcuffs. Probably, it is for the sake of security on their way here," said Mashudi, the warden of Sukamiskin Prison. The new arrivals joined another group of 18 GAM prisoners already in the prison. As to when they will all be released, Mashudi said it all depended on the central government.