Helsinki spirit put to a test in Aceh
Tiarma Siboro and Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh
The peace agreement between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) faced its first test on Wednesday when plainclothes police threatened rebels who were released from the Jantho penitentiary in Aceh Besar regency.
One of the officers took a picture of a GAM prisoner, Jamal, near a rebel flag inside his cell, while two others pulled out and brandished their handguns at the departing prisoners.
Jamal is among 48 GAM inmates imprisoned in Jantho who received remissions on their sentences in conjunction with the independence anniversary. He was immediately free thanks to the sentence cut.
Other former prisoners chased after the gunmen, defying warnings from prison wardens.
The tensions intensified when the gunmen managed to escape and joined their colleagues, who were also equipped with rifles and waiting in a Kijang van outside the jail.
Families of the prisoners, mostly women, who had been waiting for a reunion, scattered in panic.
"We are not going to leave the prison unless there is a guarantee that we can walk unharmed," one of the GAM prisoners shouted, while the other began to break down the prison gate.
Aceh Besar Police are investigating the four officers in connection with the scuffle, while some GAM prisoners were on Wednesday night still refusing to leave the jail.
The government has awarded sentence cuts to 754 GAM prisoners across the country, 285 of them in Aceh.
More GAM prisoners will soon breathe the air of freedom following the signing of peace pact between the Indonesian government and the GAM leaders in Helsinki on Monday. A key point of the agreement stipulates an amnesty for GAM fighters and other political prisoners.
Also in Aceh Besar regency, villagers residing in a GAM stronghold in the Indrapuri subdistrict refused to celebrate the anniversary of independence, saying they would rather hoist GAM flags and part with Indonesia.
"We are still traumatized by the military, although a peace accord has been signed," a woman said.
She said dozens of her neighbors had been killed or had gone missing since the government imposed martial law on Aceh in mid- May of 2003. Most of the men in the village had also sought protection from GAM guerrillas, whose hideouts were located in several hilly areas nearby.
Another woman also claimed that soldiers came to their village early in the morning on Wednesday and forced them to raise the red-and-white flag.
"If we refused, they came into our house and took the flag and hoisted it themselves," she said.
In the rest of the province, the celebrations ran peacefully. In Banda Aceh, red-and-white flags have been flying since early in August.
A modest ceremony took place in the Blang Padang field, presided over by Iskandar Muda Military Commander Maj. Gen. Supiadin A.S.
"We would be grateful if GAM members participated in the celebration," Supiadin said. "I don't mind if they fail to attend (the ceremony) and decide to continue their struggle, but if they carry weapons we will treat them as criminals."