Govt to extend martial law in Aceh despite objection

Tiarma Siboro and Teuku Agam Muzakir, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Lhokseumawe

The government dropped on Tuesday the clearest hint of its intention to extend the martial law now in effect in Aceh, saying that security must be maintained in the province to enable the Acehnese to vote in next year's elections.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the final goal of the military offensive in Aceh was to restore security among the people. He doubted that the Acehnese would feel safe to go out or to exercise their political rights if the security situation remained uncertain.

Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto has spoken of plans to maintain 35,000 troops in Aceh "to make sure that all Acehnese people will be able to exercise their political rights".

Susilo asserted that the military would be given the authority to assess whether or not the emergency status should be extended, and that TNI leaders would go to Aceh in a few days to observe the latest developments.

He admitted that some critics had voiced their objections to the extension of the martial law in Aceh, for fear that it would affect the election process.

Susilo, who is in charge of the endorsement of the martial law, did not say which election date would determine the timeframe of the extension.

Indonesia is to hold the legislative election on April 5, 2004, and the direct presidential election on July 5, with its run-off election set for Sept. 20.

The martial law will expire on Nov. 19 as stipulated in the presidential decree imposing emergency status in the resource- rich province. The decree also orders a major offensive against the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), and operations to enforce the law, empower local governments and provide humanitarian assistance.

The president may order a six-month extension.

Jakarta has restricted the movement of journalists and foreign observers in the province since the imposition of the emergency status, raising fears that the elections there will be prone to irregularities.

Almost 1,000 suspected members of GAM members have allegedly been killed and more than 1,800 others have been arrested or have surrendered in since the operation to crush the rebels began on May 19.

Despite the great number of GAM members claimed to have been captured, the military has thus far confiscated only 380 weapons from the separatists.

GAM has said that its strength has not ebbed, despite the five months of military operation.

GAM spokesman in Pasee, Teungku Jamaika, said that as of Tuesday, leaders of the separatist group were able to roam freely through the forests and command their troops to continue the fight.

In the latest violence in Aceh, spokesman for the military operation Lt. Col. Ahmad Yani Basuki said nine suspected GAM members and two civilians were killed in the past two days in a shoot-out, while the TNI also confiscated dozens of rounds of ammunition in a raid on a GAM hideout in Ulee Blang village, North Aceh.

He said two soldiers were wounded in a gunfight with rebels in a swampy area in North Aceh district at around 4 p.m., and were admitted to the military hospital in Lhokseumawe.

The military operation in Aceh has so far claimed 304 civilian lives, while 140 other civilians have been injured.

Yani also ruled out a cease-fire against separatist rebels in the Muslim-predominantly province during the fasting month of Ramadhan, but said the military offensive will be "adjusted" during the period.

"We understand that Ramadhan is a holy month that has to be respected," he said. "In principle, we will not stop hunting the rebels, but the pattern of the operation will be adjusted to fit the importance of the month."