GAM to refrain from celebrating anniversary
Nani Afrida and Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh/Jakarta
Former Aceh rebels have decided against celebrating the 29nd anniversary of their movement on Sunday to show their commitment to promoting peace in the province.
Free Aceh Movement (GAM) leaders came to the decision in Banda Aceh on Friday following recommendations from the government and the Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM).
"We decided not to mark GAM's anniversary this year to avoid provocative incidents, which GAM might be blamed for," GAM's spokesman Sofyan Dawood told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
By not celebrating the anniversary, he said, GAM would not be responsible for flag-raising or the display of GAM symbols.
"(If such a thing occurs), please take action because the offenders will not be GAM members," Sofyan said.
Such activities, he said, would violate the peace deal signed by the government and GAM on Aug. 18 in Helsinki. The agreement requires GAM, which was founded on Dec. 4, 1976, to drop its demand for an independent state in Aceh.
Earlier, GAM intended to mark its anniversary by holding prayers in mosques, including the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque in Banda Aceh, to show its full acceptance of the agreement.
Sofyan said GAM could not stop people from expressing their gratitude for the changes brought about by the peace deal. "But please do not use GAM symbols or slogans. Don't involve GAM (in celebrations) and don't encourage mass gatherings," he said.
The decision to cancel anniversary celebrations was also influenced by the recommendations of the AMM.
AMM deputy chairman Jaako Oksanen said it would not facilitate GAM's anniversary celebration. "AMM is still concentrating on the decommissioning process as requested in the memorandum of understanding (MOU) in Helsinki," Oksanen said recently in Banda Aceh.
Aceh Police chief Insp. Gen. Bahrumsyah Kasman expected there would be no celebrations this year "to ensure peace, which the Acehnese have just started to enjoy following the signing of the peace deal".
Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said on Friday he had asked AMM and the local police to restrict GAM members from celebrating the anniversary, saying that would not be in the spirit of the peace deal.
"If the Dec. 4 celebration aims at commemorating the signing of the MOU, well that's OK, but if the celebration is aimed at commemorating the anniversary of GAM, which waged armed rebellion for independence, I guess AMM and the police should take certain moves to stop it, because it disregards the presence of the Unitary Republic of Indonesia."
The four-star general also warned the former guerrillas not to hoist GAM's crescent-star flag, saying the flag had yet to be officially recognized in Aceh.