More militia groups set up to fight GAM
More militia groups set up to fight GAM
Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam
After the six-month extension of martial law in Nanggroe Aceh
Darussalam, civilians have been mobilized to set up militia
groups across the war-torn province to help crush separatist
rebels.
Members of these groups are equipped with sharpened bamboo
sticks and machetes and wear white-and-red headbands. Most claim
that they were victims of violence blamed on Free Aceh Movement
(GAM) rebels.
An Acehnese man, Ahmad, 31, was among those civilians in Aceh
Besar regency who joined a militia group.
Along with around 1,500 people, mostly youths, he gathered at
Peukan Biluy water fountain, about 15 kilometers east of the
provincial capital of Banda Aceh, to declare the establishment of
the Anti Aceh-Separatist Front (FPAS GAM) recently.
The group was initiated to help the military and police crush
the rebels who are believed to have set up camps in the hilly
area, known as a GAM stronghold.
"We were asked recently to gather here and Pak Keuchik (the
village head) said that we should hunt for GAM rebels in that
mountainous area," Ahmad, who is a banana vendor in Lambaro
traditional market, said.
Nevertheless, he refused to answer a question pertaining to
whether or not he would use sharp weapons to fight the separatist
guerrillas.
"I'm afraid the military will say I am a GAM member if I
refuse to join (a militia group). It is better I am here (with
the group), isn't it?" Ahmad asked.
The wives of those joining the group also met at the fountain.
They expressed concerns over their husbands' safety, arguing that
they already knew that it was impossible to fight GAM that was
equipped with guns, including AK-47s.
However, after a whole day looking for GAM rebels the members
of the group failed to find even one guerrilla.
Martial law was extended in Aceh on Nov. 19.
Earlier, the Indonesian Military (TNI) blamed a lack of public
support from Acehnese civilians for its failure to capture key
GAM leaders.
TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto has endorsed the
mobilization of civilians in Aceh.
The military, however, refused to call the group a militia
group, despite the fact that its members are allowed to carry
sharp weapons.
Similar anti-GAM movements had earlier been initiated in
Central Aceh and Bireun and other regencies across Aceh.
In Aceh Jaya regency, the anti-GAM movement is called the
Anti-Free Aceh Movement Front (FAGSAM), while in South Aceh,
thousands of civilians have established the Anti-Separatist
Movement (GPSG). In Lhokseumawe, North Aceh, a similar group is
called the People's Fortress to Fight Aceh Separatists
(Berantas).
In Indrapuri subdistrict, security officers have reportedly
asked the wives of GAM rebels and their relatives to help them
locate the guerrillas.
Human rights activists have expressed concern over the rampant
establishment of militia groups in Aceh, saying the move could
create civil war there.
In 1999, the TNI backed the establishment of pro-integration
militia groups in the country's former province of East Timor
ahead of a UN-sponsored independence vote there.
The militiamen were blamed for carnage in East Timor when it
voted for independence in August 1999.