Govt talks about Aceh economy

Govt talks about Aceh economy

Nani Farida
The Jakarta Post
Banda Aceh, Aceh

The government along with the military met with a select group of
concerned people in Aceh on Saturday to hold discussions on
economic recovery in the province, in the event that the economy-
hindering armed conflict comes to an end.

Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla told
the Aceh-based figures, including local government officials,
businesspeople, academics and non-governmental organization (NGO)
activists, that the province should "rely on their own strength".

"Do not expect too much from foreign assistance as such loans
may not benefit the Acehnese," Kalla claimed without elaborating.

The gathering was held in Takengon, the capital of Central
Aceh regency.

Also present was the Iskandar Muda Military Commander and Aceh
martial law administrator Maj. Gen. Endang Suwarya as well as
Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh.

During the meeting, they talked about solutions to the various
problems in the province, including unemployment, agricultural
recovery and repair of damaged infrastructure.

One of the concrete resolutions that came out of the meeting
is that they agreed to call on local banks to disburse loans to
address those problems.

A group of foreign donors, including the United States, the
European Union, Japan and the World Bank had promised millions of
dollars of assistance to rebuild Aceh to support a peace pact
signed in December 2002. But the pledge was put on hold after
peace talks between the Indonesian government and Free Aceh
Movement (GAM) broke down and the current round of hostilities
were launched by Jakarta on May 19.

The government and the military initially assumed a six-month
timetable for the current offensive against the rebels, but there
has been talk of late of extending that, so the foreign
assistance may not be forthcoming any time soon.

Meanwhile, a police officer announced on Saturday that the
military and police troops had destroyed 57 bombs and other
weapons apparently belonging to GAM, which had been discovered in
Banda Aceh, and Neuheun village in Aceh Besar regency on Friday.

Among the explosives and weapons were rockets, grenades and
artillery mortars.

A suspected GAM bomb specialist was arrested during the
operation, the Tegak Rencong law enforcement operation chief
Brig. Gen. T. Gulian Syah said.

He added that a search was underway for other GAM bombmakers,
whose capture would cripple their network.

"Besides the bombs we destroyed today, there were some
explosives demolished as soon as they were found," he said.

bisa dipotong

With the military operation now in its fourth month, Maj. Gen.
Endang said that the strength of GAM had been nearly decimated as
most of their territory was under TNI control.

However, he said many GAM members remained among the civilian
population, making it difficult for the TNI and police to capture
them.

"Guerrilla war will take us a long time, not only months but
also years, to finally win it," he said.

Endang called on the locals to help the TNI crush the rebels
as soon as possible so the military could create peace.

According to official TNI figures, they have arrested 2,600
suspected GAM members and killed 800 others, with 134 taken to
court.