Govt to give Sweden more evidence

Govt to give Sweden more evidence

JAKARTA: A number of government officials will leave for Sweden to hand over more evidence linking the exiled leader of the Aceh separatist rebels to crimes in the province, a police officer said on Tuesday.

The five-strong team made up of officers from the national police and foreign ministry officials will leave on Wednesday, and will spend between four and five days in Sweden for the purpose of presenting the new evidence and documents, said Brig. Gen. Ariyanto Sutadi.

He did not give any details of the new evidence but said he would meet prosecutors in Stockholm upon arrival.

An Indonesian delegation in June gave Sweden what it described as "proof" of links between Free Aceh Movement (GAM) leaders in Sweden, including its founder Hasan Tiro, and terrorist acts in Aceh and other parts of Indonesia.

These allegedly include the 2000 bombing of the Jakarta Stock Exchange, which killed 10 people, and other attacks in the capital and in the city of Medan. GAM denies any involvement in the bombings.

Hasan, who founded the movement in 1976, has lived in exile in Sweden since 1979 and is now a Swedish national.--AFP