GAM surrenders 59 weapons
Nani Afrida and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh/Jakarta
The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) began on Monday the third of four phases of disarmament, handing in 59 weapons to foreign monitors in a remote field in West Aceh regency.
Upon completion of the weapons decommissioning on Thursday, the Indonesian Military and National Police will withdraw 6,945 personnel from the province between Nov. 19 and Nov. 25.
Dozens of local residents joined representatives from GAM, the Indonesian government and the Aceh Monitoring Mission in witnessing the weapons being handed over at Kayee Uno soccer field in Krueng Sabee Aceh Jaya, some 70 kilometers from the West Aceh capital of Meulaboh. The coastal town was hit hardest by the Dec. 26 tsunami, which killed 130,000 people, some 30,000 in Meulaboh alone.
Due to poor communications, GAM had to change the venue for the weapons handover twice before choosing the soccer field. The decommissioning began at 12:15 p.m., over two hours behind schedule due to the changes of venue.
The weapons surrendered included various rifles, pistols and grenade launcher modules.
"I want to see for myself the disarmament process," said Sulaeman of Lamno near Meulaboh. He was among hundreds of local residents who observed the handover.
Of the weapons surrendered, nine were rejected by the Indonesian government while another five are in dispute.
The next decommissioning will occur in West Aceh and Nagan Raya on Tuesday, Southwest Aceh on Wednesday and South Aceh on Thursday.
Under the peace agreement signed on Aug. 18, GAM has to surrender 840 weapons over four phases until the end of the year. In exchange, Indonesia has to cut its forces to no more than 14,700 soldiers and 9,100 police.
In Jakarta, government negotiator in the Aceh peace talks Sofyan Djalil expressed optimism the third stage of GAM disarmament and troops' withdrawal would run smoothly.
"It seems that everything is going as expected," Sofyan said after a Cabinet meeting.
Sofyan, who is the Minister of Information and Communications, said the government was still waiting for GAM to submit the names of its 3,000 members as a requirement for the disbursement of government reintegration funds for the former rebels.
A former rebel will receive Rp 500,000 (US$50) per month for six months.
The government disbursed part of the funds through regental administrations across the province ahead of Idul Fitri. The money was channeled to GAM members through their leaders.
"But in the next disbursement, we want to give the money directly to each former GAM member," Sofyan said.
GAM has been reluctant to submit the names due to safety concerns.