Indonesia, Sweden begin cooperating in GAM investigation

Lennart Linnir, Sweden's Ambassador to Indonesia, Jakarta

On Feb. 16 a decision was made by the Swedish judicial authorities to initiate a preliminary investigation into the alleged link between the leaders of the separatist movement GAM, residing in Sweden, and acts of terrorism and other criminal activities in Indonesia for which GAM is held responsible by the Indonesian authorities.

A visit by the Swedish chief District Prosecutor to Indonesia will be for the purpose of interrogating certain persons who might have information relevant for this investigation.

Like Indonesia, Sweden takes active part in the international efforts against terrorism. Swift action is often needed, but the rule of law and due process of law are imperative and important also for maintaining public support for the fight against terrorism. Sweden maintains the position that the fight against terrorism must always be in line with international law, including human rights and humanitarian law.

During the past year, there has been a lot of focus, not least in the media, on the alleged illegal activities of some of the leaders of the separatist movement GAM residing in Sweden, some of whom are also Swedish citizens.

There must be no mistake, Sweden supports and has always supported the territorial integrity of the Republic of Indonesia and does consequently not support independence for Aceh or any attempts to challenge Indonesia's present borders. GAM enjoys no official status in Sweden nor does it receive any support from the Government of Sweden.

On the explicit request of the Government of Indonesia, Sweden has been in contact with GAM on several occasions. At these occasions, the Government of Sweden has underlined its support for the territorial integrity of the Republic on Indonesia. Sweden has also called upon the Government of Indonesia as well as GAM to do everything possible to reach a peaceful solution based on the law on special autonomy for Aceh (NAD) of August 2001 and the principles of the CoHA (Cessation of Hostilities Agreement) of December 2002. At the time Sweden gave logistical as well as communication support to the Joint Security Committee (JSC) set up to monitor both side's compliance to the CoHA Agreement.

Although the peace process has long since broken down and martial law has been declared in Aceh, Sweden, just as it can not accept independence for Aceh, does not believe that the conflict can be solved by military means. Special autonomy must, in our view be fully implemented and be given a fair chance from both sides paving the way ultimately, for a resumption of negotiations.

Meanwhile, as in any armed conflict, it is the civilian population that will suffer most. Therefore we would encourage the Government of Indonesia to minimize the impact of its activities under martial law, on the well-being of the people of Aceh and to improve the transparency of the situation in the province.

Many pose the question why the Swedish Government is not taking any legal measures against the leaders of GAM residing in Sweden in light of Indonesia's accusations against them. Under the Swedish Constitution it is not for the Government to take any action against an individual who is reported for having committed a crime.

This task rests with the competent police authority and with the public prosecutor. Under the Constitution both the police and the prosecutor are independent agencies. It is not for the Government to interfere with the decision-making of these agencies in individual cases. This is why the Indonesian authorities were asked to contact the Public Prosecutor regarding their allegations that GAM representatives living in Sweden are responsible for crimes committed in Indonesia.

Others have asked why legal measures have not been taken before. In June 2003, an Indonesian delegation lead by Ali Alatas visited Stockholm and delivered a dossier to the office of the public prosecutor alleged to contain legal evidence pertaining to the link between the leadership of the GAM residing in Sweden and "acts of armed rebellion, terrorism and other criminal activities of GAM in Indonesia". The prosecutor examined the material and in August, asked for certain additional information from the Indonesian authorities.

This supplementary information was presented to him only in late December 2003. Following an investigation of all material submitted to him the prosecutor decided to initiate a preliminary investigation (for further details including the decision itself, see the Embassy homepage: www.swedenabroad.com).

The preliminary investigation constitutes a means for the prosecutor to gain evidence and other material for the purpose of making a decision whether to bring charges or not. A visit by the Swedish prosecutor to Indonesia will be for the purpose of interrogating certain persons who might have information relevant for his investigation.

These interrogations are an important part of the preliminary investigation. When the whole investigation is concluded, the prosecutor will make a decision on whether there are sufficient reasons to prosecute or not. Thus the outcome of the prosecutor's preliminary investigation now has to be awaited.

Whilst there presently is a focus on the "GAM-issue" in Swedish-Indonesian bilateral relations, we must not loose sight of the fact that Sweden and Indonesia have enjoyed excellent relations for more than fifty years.

From a historical perspective the backbone of our relations has been in trade and industrial contacts and many of Sweden's large multinational companies are active in Indonesia. But our contacts have continued to widen and before the devastating terrorist attacks in Bali in October 2002, when six Swedes also lost their lives, nearly 20 000 Swedish tourists visited Indonesia every year. Since then that figure has dropped but is again on the rise.

Nowadays there is also a lively cultural exchange in such areas as art, film, music and design, and not least important -- a growing student exchange. Equally crucial, Sweden and Indonesia share views on many important international issues, for instance the need for a multilateral approach to many of today's most intractable problems in international affairs and a strong role for the United Nations, the importance of closer international cooperation in combating terrorism as well as strengthening the international framework to stop the further proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Sweden and Indonesia also have similar views on the importance of concluding a fair and equitable trade agreement in the Doha round. On these and many other issues we seek closer cooperation with Indonesia -- leading to a broadening and deepening of our ties. Our continued interest in Indonesia is manifested in many different ways, the latest being our support through the United Nations for the upcoming Indonesian elections and the election observers Sweden is sending through the European Union.

To Sweden, Indonesia is indeed of great importance having the world's fourth largest population and the largest Muslim population of any country, but also because Indonesia, with its strategic location, is a major political actor, not only in Southeast Asia but in Asia as a whole. We firmly believe that there is a great potential to expand our bilateral relations in many different fields and Sweden is certainly prepared to do its part in realizing this vision.

This article fully reflects the view of the Swedish Government