GAM, TNI gear up for war in Aceh as deadline draws near

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

As the two-week deadline draws closer, both the Indonesian Military (TNI) and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) are now gearing up for a possible bloody confrontation in conflict-torn Aceh.

TNI Chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto told 2,164 military personnel -- consisting of 1,300 Marines, 600 Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) personnel, 164 Air Force soldiers, 70 Navy soldiers, and 30 personnel of the joint military-police riot squad (PPRC) -- to head for the country's westernmost province as early as Thursday (today).

Earlier, TNI leadership also readied two battalions of about 1,200 Air Force soldiers, including its intelligence unit Bravo, as well as 1,300 marines, and 6,000 Mobile Brigade (Brimob).

They would join some 26,000 troops and 14,000 police personnel already stationed in the province, where GAM has been fighting for independence for resource-rich Aceh since 1976. At least 10,000 people have been killed, mostly civilians, since then.

The huge number of reinforcement troops would reportedly face between 8,000 and 10,000 GAM members who are believed to have some 8,000 weapons, including SS-1, AK-47 and AK-54 rifles.

Some of these GAM members are living in remote parts of the jungle, but some, especially those recruited during or after 2000, stay in Aceh's towns, together with the local people.

Under the leadership of Muzakkir Manaf, elected as GAM's supreme commander in 2002 to replace Abdullah Syafie who died in a military raid -- the secessionist movement had consolidated and recruited more members, mostly from East Aceh.

A reliable source close to GAM told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday that during the consolidation process, several GAM members had been singled out as military infiltrators and were now "wanted by GAM."

"They include Tengku Maulida and Fauzi Hasbi from North Aceh and Arjuna from Pidie region," the source said.

He said Muzakkir, a top graduate from Libyan special forces training in 1980s, served as Hassan Tiro's political military officer in Sweden before taking up the leadership post in Aceh.

Muzakir, according to the source, gave autonomy to each GAM commander at the regency level to maximize its strength, including to purchase weapons from drug mafia groups in Thailand. It also purchased military weaponry from Malaysia and "several low-ranking military officers" in Aceh.

Realizing that the peace deal signed in December last year would bear no fruit, GAM had also collected what they call Nanggroe taxes from local people to support their guerrilla activities. Later they limited the tax collections to businesspeople.

"But what Muzakkir and other GAM leaders are concerned about is that these new members will not be as militant as their seniors. I also predict that in not more than one month we will find difficulty in seeking logistics should the military launch urban warfare tactics and force us to live in the jungles," the source said.

TNI earlier revealed that it would employ counter-guerrilla tactics in dealing with Aceh rebels, by first of all separating the people from GAM and cutting off the flow of logistics for GAM soldiers. It is estimated that the operation would be completed in not more than six months.

TNI had also identified several regencies as GAM strongholds including Aceh Besar, Pidie, Bireun, North Aceh, East Aceh, while several places like Gayo, Tamiang, Singkil, Alas, and Central Aceh have been declared "clean areas".

TNI had also prepared 13 scorpion tanks, 23 Navy amphibious tanks, 12 Navy tanks, along with two F-16 jet fighters, 4 Hawk- 200, six Hercules carriers, one Superpuma and five Twinpack helicopters and six OV-10 Bronco military aircraft.

In Madiun, East Java, the Air Force has already undergone the night-flight training using the F-16, F-5 and Hawk MK-53 fighters to preparation for the military operation in Aceh.

GAM has no option but to face government troops. Tengku, however, said that any military operation "will only increase the number of rights violations in the province".

"We are not going to surrender even if Jakarta insists on sending military troops here. We are ready to face them," Sofyan Dawood told the Post by telephone from GAM headquarters in Aceh.