Mechanism unclear for GAM to lay down arms

Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh, Aceh

Demilitarization in the restive province of Aceh is scheduled to start on Sunday as part of last December's peace deal to end long-standing hostilities, but exactly how it will work remains unclear.

The Joint Security Committee (JSC) has yet to draw up the operational mechanism for demilitarization, which will affect both the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Mark Knight of the committee said JSC officials were discussing the mechanism.

"We will not talk about this in detail to the press because it is still being discussed," he told a news conference in the province's capital of Banda Aceh on Thursday.

He said demilitarization would involve GAM and TNI, both of whom must carry it out simultaneously and gradually over a period of five months.

Knight said the military would be expected to restructure troops deployed across Aceh from offensive to defensive positions.

And the police had to review the function of its Mobile Brigade (Brimob) so as to resume its "normal" service without carrying long-barrel guns instead of pistols, he added.

Meanwhile, GAM must lay down arms under the supervision of the JSC, comprising representatives of GAM, the government and the Henry Dunant Centre (HDC), which brokered the peace deal on Dec. 9, Knight said.

Sofyan Ibrahim Tiba, a senior GAM envoy in the JSC, separately said GAM members had not objected to disarming on the condition that TNI was ready to abide by the demilitarization rules.

Proposing a mechanism for GAM's demilitarization, he said the military should withdraw its security personnel from posts in villages and the National Police (Polri) change Brimob's role as a combat force.

"All should be done in an equal manner. If TNI/Polri relocate 25 percent of their personnel, GAM will also lay down 25 percent of its arms," Sofyan said, citing an example.

He said that there should be assurances that only GAM and the JSC knew where GAM would store its arms. "We don't want to be trapped. Therefore, TNI should stay away from the process of GAM laying down arms."

Yet Sofyan said that GAM wanted to retain control of its weapons until after achieving its main goal of Aceh's independence, a struggle that has cost 10,000 lives since 1976.

"We will cease using them, and we want HDC to make sure that our weapons are not confiscated," Sofyan said.

He said that despite the truce, GAM was unable to fully trust the Indonesian government in its effort to support the fragile peace deal.

Sofyan was apparently referring to a recent statement by Aceh Military Commander Maj. Gen. Djali Yusuf, who threatened to hunt down rebels should they refuse to lay down their arms.

Such a comment could disrupt the situation on the part of GAM, Sofyan said. "It could make GAM change its mind," he said.

The truce has significantly reduced bloodshed in Aceh, although sporadic outbreaks of violence do still occur, with both GAM and the military having violated the cease-fire.