Military warns of rising separatist sentiment

Military warns of rising separatist sentiment

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Adm. Widodo
A.S. indicated the seriousness of rising separatist sentiments
across the country and warned the threat of national
disintegration was a very real one.

During a hearing with the House of Representative Commission I
on security, foreign and political affairs, Widodo told
legislators that these threats, such as those in Aceh and Irian
Jaya, must be anticipated, prioritized and resolved as soon as
possible.

"Such movements have become real threats: That is organized
armed groups conducting insurgency activities such as terrorism,
destruction of public and government facilities, kidnapping and
murder," he said.

He said separatist rebels in Aceh had gained ground since the
pullout of combat troops from the province earlier this month.

"Proindependence activists have been freely persuading local
people to separate from the republic. Armed rebels have also
increased their campaign of terror against the people and
security forces," he added.

Combat troops, including units from the Army's Special Force
and the Strategic Reserves Command, were withdrawn from Aceh
earlier this month under the orders of the President, in an
attempt to defuse tension in the province.

The province of Aceh has seen growing separatist sentiment in
the past few months, with calls for a referendum becoming wider.

Widodo claimed that since August last year, when Jakarta
lifted a decade of antirebel operations in Aceh, more than 259
people, including 88 security personnel, had been killed and
nearly 300 more injured.

"This situation is aggravated by intervention from certain
parties, both locally and from abroad, which has been promoting
negative opinions and discrediting the government's efforts to
settle the Aceh problem," Widodo said, without elaborating.

Widodo did not stop there and noted the potential for
separatist tendencies in South Sulawesi, Riau and particularly
the province of Maluku, where bloody communal violence has
frequently flared since the beginning of the year.

"We cannot disregard the possibility that violence in Maluku
could develop into a separatist movement, if the government is
not serious in handling the case and allows the problem to drag
on," he warned.

Although dialog and nonrepressive measures would be the
primary course for resolving such disputes, Widodo warned that
TNI "will take tough measures against separatism once it
manifests into physical activities.

"There are demands that have been emerging and if they are
reasonable, it is only fitting that we should answer them. But if
the demands are unreasonable, such as independence or separating
from the republic, it will be impossible for us to fulfill those
demands," Widodo said.

Responding to criticism that much of the rising unrest may be
in part be sparked by human rights abuses by military personnel,
Widodo said such accusations should be followed up, however "we
should be wise and objective which cases are resolved through
legal means".

He asserted that the military would swiftly act on violators,
noting that in the last year 151 cases involving soldiers have
been tried.

Separately, Teuku Umar Military Commander Col. Syarifuddin
Tippe said in Banda Aceh on Tuesday that he has asked military
police to investigate allegations that six students grouped under
the South Aceh Youth and Student Forum were detained and beaten
by soldiers when trying to help refugees in Bakongan district in
South Aceh last week.

The six students -- Zairi Karnaini, Muhammad Dinar, Achmad
Fadli, Razikin, Rizal Sabri and Haikal -- went on Tuesday to the
local chapter of the National Commission on Human Rights in Banda
Aceh to submit a report on their abuse.

They said they were dragged to Bakongan Military office on
Thursday afternoon, where they were stripped and beaten whilst
being interrogated.

"We were told to stand in-line naked and they tied GAM (Free
Aceh Movement) flags to our backs and took pictures of us,"
Haikal said.

Five of the students were later released around midnight on
the same day, while Haikal was set free the next day.(50/edt/byg)