Military operation commander in Aceh will be replaced

Military operation commander in Aceh will be replaced

ID Nugroho and Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Situbondo/Jakarta

Aceh military operation commander Maj. Gen. Bambang Darmono will
be replaced after leading the major offensive against rebels for
almost six months.

Army chief of staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu confirmed on Sunday
the replacement of Bambang, who will transfer his command to
Jakarta Military Command chief of staff Brig. Gen. George
Toisutta, a former member of the now defunct Joint Security
Committee (JSC) which was overseeing the peace pact along with
representatives from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the peace
mediator the Henry Dunant Centre, in Aceh from December 2002
until May 19, 2003 when Jakarta decided to impose martial law and
launch and all-out military offensive.

"He (Bambang) is tired after having served in Nanggroe Aceh
Darussalam for so long," Ryamizard said at the close of a
training session by the Army's Raider unit near Surabaya.

Bambang's exit from Aceh followed a major rotation within the
Army, which also saw a changing of the guard in four regional
military commands (Kodam).

Bambang will move to the Indonesian Military (TNI)
Headquarters as an expert staff for people's welfare, the post he
held before going to Aceh, TNI spokesman Maj. Gen. Sjafrie
Sjamsoeddin said.

The withdrawal of Bambang comes amid the government's
announcement that martial law in Aceh would be extended for
another six months, claiming it was necessary to ensure safety
and enable the people to vote in the April 2004 election.

Some analysts have said that the decision reflected a failure
by the TNI to completely rid the province of GAM fighters and
sympathizers, who have been struggling for an independent state
since 1976.

After deploying 35,000 troops, the government and TNI had
apparently expected a quick war against some 5,000 rebel
fighters.

The government stated that the martial law administration
would have a 4-pronged strategy, comprising a military offensive
to neutralize the rebels, a humanitarian mission to deal with the
victims related to the war, greater influence by national police
forces, particularly in GAM-controlled areas along with the
strengthening of the local administrations and the civil service,
especially in GAM areas where local civil servants were largely
believed to be sympathetic to the rebels or too weak to resist
them.

The return of Toistutta, a 1976 graduate of the Military
Academy, to Aceh means a reunion with fellow JSC member Brig.
Gen. Safzen Nurdin, currently Bambang's deputy.

The JSC was established following the Cessation of Hostility
Agreement signed by the Indonesian government and GAM to end
decades of conflict in Aceh. But the peace was short-lived.

According to the official military data, over 900 rebels have
been killed and 1,800 have been arrested or surrendered since
May.

Meanwhile, in the latest battles over the weekend, nine more
suspected GAM members were shot dead and six others arrested.

Spokesman for the military operation Lt. Col. Ahmad Yani
Basuki said on Sunday that four rebels were killed in separate
clashes with TNI troops in North Aceh. He said one of the
guerrillas was thought to be a platoon commander for the Ujung
Pancu area.

The remaining rebels were shot dead in the regencies of Nagan
Raya, Aceh Besar, Bireuen and East Aceh.