Indonesia, Sweden begin cooperating in GAM investigation

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