Mega asked to pardon GAM rebels

Mega asked to pardon GAM rebels

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Lhokseumawe

Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Governor Abdullah Puteh appealed to
President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Wednesday to fulfill her
promise to grant an amnesty to Free Aceh Movement (GAM) members
who had surrendered to the government.

Puteh said after a meeting with Megawati here that some 2,000
Acehnese rebels had given up their struggle for independence and
pledged loyalty to the state since the start of a military
offensive in the province on May 19.

"We would ask for an immediate amnesty and for economic
programs to help former GAM members so that they will not regret
their decision to give up their struggle," Puteh said.

The government announced early this month that it would grant
an amnesty to Acehnese rebels who surrendered to government
troops since the start of what the government terms a joint
operation last May.

Details of the amnesty, however, will only be spelled out over
the next four to six months, including the criteria under which
amnesty will be granted.

The plan will also need the approval of the House of
Representatives before it is implemented.

Puteh said he had also urged President Megawati to provide
economic support for those GAM members who had surrendered as
most of them, if not all, were unemployed.

The President, according to the government, gave a positive
response to his request by saying that the amnesty process was
still ongoing.

He also said Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dorodjatun
Kuntjoro-Jakti would visit Aceh soon to help design economic
improvement programs for the province, where GAM rebels have been
fighting for independence since 1976. Over 10,000 people have
been killed since then.

The Indonesian Military (TNI) has deployed more than 40,000
troops to the province since the imposition of martial law on May
19.

The latest data provided by the TNI claims that more than
1,000 armed GAM rebels have been killed and close to 2,000 others
have surrendered or been arrested during the six months of the
operation. The TNI also says it has seized hundreds of rifles
from the rebels.

During the meeting with Megawati, Puteh also reported that
around 4,000 Aceh Muslim preachers would hold a gathering in
December, and hoped that Megawati would attend.

"The President agreed to attend the gathering, which will take
place around Dec. 21, 22 or 23. This will be the first visit by
the President since the imposition of martial law," he said.

Megawati has briefly visited the war-torn province twice since
she became president in 2001.

If the visit goes ahead, Megawati will also inaugurate a
number of projects in the province, including bridges and housing
complexes for civil servants.

Commenting on the amnesty policy, GAM spokesman for Pidie
regency Teungku Anwar Hussein said that it was the members of the
TNI who should be seeking pardons.

"It should have been the Acehnese pardoning the government for
the unjust treatment it has meted out over the years," he said.

Meanwhile, government troops continued to besiege a group of
GAM members in Tanah Luang subdistrict, Lhokseumawe regency,
North Aceh, on Wednesday.

The rebels were engaged in clashes with troops on Tuesday in
which four GAM members were killed and four AK-47 rifles and
thousands of rounds of ammunition were recovered.

The dead rebels were identified as Saifuddin, 20, from Cot
Girek village; Nurdin, 25, from Alue Mirah village; Saleh, 30,
from Alue Panah village, and Dasari, 18, from Bombai village in
North Aceh.

"We have sealed off the area completely," the commander of the
operation, Col. Fransen G. Siahaan, told The Jakarta Post at the
scene.

ibox

Libya to assist TNI in fighting GAM

Libya has promised to assist Indonesia with military equipment
and training in fighting against Acehnese rebels.

TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said that Libya would send
a number of trainers and instructors to help the TNI.

"The Libyan government will send instructors and support us
with helicopters and other military vehicles," Endriartono said
during a hearing with the House on Tuesday.

Some rebel leaders now fighting government troops in Aceh are
believed to have undergone military training in Libya. However,
during a meeting with President Megawati in Tripoli in August,
Libyan President Moammar Khadafy denied the allegation.

Khadafy told Megawati then that these people might have joined
defense training programs for Libyan people, but it was never his
government's intention to support the separatist movement.