GAM prisoners breathe air of freedom
The Jakarta Post Aceh/Bandung/Semarang
Hundreds of Acehnese rebels were released from prison on Wednesday following the signing of a decree granting amnesty and unconditional release to members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday.
The amnesty -- a key condition of the landmark peace deal signed in Helsinki on Aug. 15 -- takes effect immediately, and has been granted to people who were involved with GAM, including Indonesian nationals and former Indonesian nationals who have taken up foreign citizenship.
"I'm very happy. Now myself and my friends can go back home to Aceh. I can join my wife and children again. I thank God," said Tengku Hasan Umar Tiro, one of the released GAM prisoners at Ahmad Yani Airport in Semarang.
He was among 219 GAM prisoners held in jails in Central Java who benefited from the amnesty, and was on his way back home on a Garuda flight, sitting alongside ordinary passengers.
Up to 1,424 GAM prisoners and detainees are believed to have been released on Wednesday.
In Bandung, 74 GAM members walked free from Sukamiskin penitentiary at dawn, each provided with Rp 2 million (US$190) in cash, and a bag containing a batik T-shirt, bathing and shaving requisites, and underwear.
From Bandung, they traveled to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta on board two buses to catch a flight to Aceh.
Free as they are, the GAM members were still worried about the security situation in Aceh following reports of continuing armed clashes between the Indonesian Military and the insurgents.
Former GAM negotiator Teungku Kamaruzaman expressed hope that both the government and GAM were really committed to implementing the peace deal. This was essential to ensure the well-being of the Acehnese people.
"We still don't know what will happen to us there in Aceh as the security situation is not completely safe," he told journalists before leaving Bandung.
In Banda Aceh, relatives of released GAM prisoners impatiently waited for their arrival at Iskandar Muda Airport.
Aminah, a 67-year-old Lhokseumawe native, who came to the airport at 10 a.m., was unable to conceal her excitement as she waited the arrival of her eldest son from prison in East Java. She had brought a sampling of her son's favorite Acehnese delicacy with her.
"I arrived in Banda Aceh yesterday because I thought my son would arrive on Tuesday," she told The Jakarta Post.
Flanked by relatives, she was specially dressed up for the reunion, with a long, simple kebaya (traditional dress) and a new sarong. Her face was radiant with happiness.
Then the first out of three scheduled flights carrying the GAM members arrived, and was welcomed by local officials, including Aceh Police chief Insp. Gen. Bahrumsyah Kasman.
"Where's my son. Is he there?" cried Aminah as tears of joy ran down her cheek. She eagerly craned her neck, trying to catch sight of her son in the distance as the waiting relatives were not allowed to enter the airport.
The released GAM members were then taken to Harapan Bangsa Lampeunerut Station where they met their relatives.
Aminah and her son were finally reunited, and hugged each other with joy.