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.