Killings continue after GAM, govt agree on cease-fire
Killings continue after GAM, govt agree on cease-fire
Ibnu Mat Noor, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh
Violence in restive Aceh continues to claim lives, only days
after the government and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM)
vowed to end hostility in Geneva, Switzerland.
Eight people were killed in skirmishes over the weekend at
three different locations, military sources said.
Three members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) and two GAM
members were among the fatalities in a 30-minute exchange of fire
in the village of Blang Mane, Bireuen regency, 200 kilometers to
the east of Banda Aceh, local military spokesman Maj. Zaenal
Mutaqin told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
In Jakarta, the negotiator for the Indonesian government in
the Geneva talks, Wirjono Sastrohandojo, said after a meeting
with Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono that the two parties had agreed to work
toward a cease fire.
"We have yet to arrive at a cease-fire, however we are trying
to get to that stage," he told reporters on Monday.
Wirjono said the talks had been "positive" and hoped that the
next meeting could be held in Jakarta in about two months time.
The GAM military wing commander at Bireuen regency, Darwis
Djeunieb, said that the clash broke out when GAM members were
retreating to their barracks in the forest and encountered TNI
troops.
In another showdown in the village of Kandang in Pidie
regency, two GAM members were shot dead on Sunday.
Maj. Mutaqin said unidentified men on motorbikes opened fire
on three TNI members in separate incidents in Lhokseumawe,
killing one and severely wounding two others.
Asked whether the efforts toward cease-fire would include
withdrawal of military troops from Aceh, Wirjono said his job was
a negotiator not troops commander.
When asked about the alleged split between the military and
the foreign affairs ministry in viewing the Aceh conflict,
Wirjono said he was aware that the two organizations have yet to
work more harmoniously.
"Naturally, the tasks of diplomats differ from that of the
militarymen. As negotiators we do hope to have a peaceful
situation but when our securitymen were attacked they had to
defend themselves," he said.
Separately, a man was arrested on Sunday while planting a
makeshift bomb near the ExxonMobil gas compound in the village of
Lung, Matangkuli district, Mutaqin said.
GAM spokesman Sofyan Daud told the Post on Sunday that he was
not aware of the shooting of the three TNI members and the arrest
of a man near the ExxonMobil gas compound.
"The report I received was that many villagers were arrested
by TNI members when the TNI swept through the villages near the
ExxonMobil gas compound. Some of them were found dead with bullet
wounds," Sofyan said.
Twelve people have died since the peace talks ended Friday in
Geneva, including four TNI members, four GAM members and four
civilians. This year alone, 400 people have been killed.
Ibnu Mat Noor, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh
Violence in restive Aceh continues to claim lives, only days
after the government and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM)
vowed to end hostility in Geneva, Switzerland.
Eight people were killed in skirmishes over the weekend at
three different locations, military sources said.
Three members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) and two GAM
members were among the fatalities in a 30-minute exchange of fire
in the village of Blang Mane, Bireuen regency, 200 kilometers to
the east of Banda Aceh, local military spokesman Maj. Zaenal
Mutaqin told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
In Jakarta, the negotiator for the Indonesian government in
the Geneva talks, Wirjono Sastrohandojo, said after a meeting
with Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono that the two parties had agreed to work
toward a cease fire.
"We have yet to arrive at a cease-fire, however we are trying
to get to that stage," he told reporters on Monday.
Wirjono said the talks had been "positive" and hoped that the
next meeting could be held in Jakarta in about two months time.
The GAM military wing commander at Bireuen regency, Darwis
Djeunieb, said that the clash broke out when GAM members were
retreating to their barracks in the forest and encountered TNI
troops.
In another showdown in the village of Kandang in Pidie
regency, two GAM members were shot dead on Sunday.
Maj. Mutaqin said unidentified men on motorbikes opened fire
on three TNI members in separate incidents in Lhokseumawe,
killing one and severely wounding two others.
Asked whether the efforts toward cease-fire would include
withdrawal of military troops from Aceh, Wirjono said his job was
a negotiator not troops commander.
When asked about the alleged split between the military and
the foreign affairs ministry in viewing the Aceh conflict,
Wirjono said he was aware that the two organizations have yet to
work more harmoniously.
"Naturally, the tasks of diplomats differ from that of the
militarymen. As negotiators we do hope to have a peaceful
situation but when our securitymen were attacked they had to
defend themselves," he said.
Separately, a man was arrested on Sunday while planting a
makeshift bomb near the ExxonMobil gas compound in the village of
Lung, Matangkuli district, Mutaqin said.
GAM spokesman Sofyan Daud told the Post on Sunday that he was
not aware of the shooting of the three TNI members and the arrest
of a man near the ExxonMobil gas compound.
"The report I received was that many villagers were arrested
by TNI members when the TNI swept through the villages near the
ExxonMobil gas compound. Some of them were found dead with bullet
wounds," Sofyan said.
Twelve people have died since the peace talks ended Friday in
Geneva, including four TNI members, four GAM members and four
civilians. This year alone, 400 people have been killed.