Kostrad declares war against GAM
JAKARTA (JP): Chief of the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) Lt. Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu on Wednesday declared war against Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatist rebels.
"We have prepared our (Kostrad) troops to fight not the people, but only enemies of the state.
"GAM is an enemy of the state. We must quell them all," Ryamizard said after presiding over the commemoration of Kostrad's 40th anniversary at the command's Airborne brigade headquarters in Cilodong, south of here.
Ryamizard added that he was ready to dispatch his troops to the troubled province any time the Indonesian Military (TNI) chief instructed him to.
However he also admitted to have already sent two battalions of Kostrad troops there.
"The fact is my troops are always ready to leave for Aceh," Ryamizard said.
Currently, the TNI deploys some 30,000 troops in the province.
The three-star general said it was GAM and not the (Acehnese) people who rejected the presence of the Indonesian military there.
Speaking about efforts to improve the intelligence capability of its combat units, Ryamizard said three and a half months of intelligence training will be held starting on March 12. The training will be held in cooperation with the Army's Special Force (Kopassus).
In the latest report of violence, three male bodies were found at separate sites in East Aceh on Tuesday, outgoing spokesman of Police's Cinta Meunasah operation Sr. Comr. Kusbini Imbar told The Jakarta Post by phone on Wednesday.
The three were identified as Ibrahim Adjar, Nasruddin and Hendra.
"The three bodies bore gunshot wounds and severe cuts. We suspect that they were subjected to this violence by the rebels," he said.
Several ambushes by alleged GAM armed rebels towards patrolling police and military officers took place in North Aceh, Pidie and South Aceh on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Meanwhile, three additional judges from Medan, the capital of North Sumatra, are set to handle the trial of detained chief of the Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA) Muhammad Nazar on Thursday.
"We are ready to hold the trial on Thursday," one of the appointed judges N.K. Simatupang told Antara on Wednesday.
Judges Azis Syarif and M. Taufik from the Medan District Court have also been named, with presiding judge Farida Hanoem from Banda Aceh District Court and Alimusahadi of Sabang District Court appointed as panel members.
Nazar, who has been detained since Nov. 20 last year for organizing a mass congress to demand a referendum in Aceh, is being charged under Articles 154 and 155 of the Criminal Code for showing hostile intentions/treason against the state, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years in jail.
The new Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Baharuddin Lopa, issued decree No. M.05.AT.01.10/2001 stipulating the relocation of Nazar's trial to the Aceh capital after the defendant failed to appear at the opening session on Feb. 21 in Medan.
Lopa's predecessor Yusril Ihza Mahendra had previously ordered the trial be held in Medan due to security concerns and the fact that only one judge was available in Banda Aceh, namely Farida. (02/50/edt)