More troops depart for Aceh

BANDUNG (JP): The first batch of troops from the Rajawali (Hawk) II Team, especially trained for counterinsurgency operations in Aceh, were flown out on Army Hercules transport planes to the restive province from Bandung's Husein Sastranegara airport on Sunday.

The departure of around 416 personnel was witnessed by Army General Affairs chief Lt. Gen. Djamari Chaniago.

Director of the Military Education and Training Command Brig. Gen. Zamroni, who has been overseeing the training of a total of 1,100 combat troops, said the remaining troops who had been trained here for missions in Aceh would depart for the province on Monday and Wednesday.

On Friday, Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Adm. Widodo Adisucipto inspected the readiness of the troops, who have been specifically prepared to be pitted against the separatist rebels of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

The troops were trained at the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) Training Center in Batujajar, West Java.

"The troops are only allowed to capture GAM members and then hand them to the police for the law to take its course," Zamroni told reporters.

The troops were trained for two months and selected from the Army's Strategic Reserves Command's (Kostrad) second division in Malang as well as the Siliwangi Military Command and Jakarta Military Command.

Some were also recruited from among Central Java's Diponegoro Military Command's crack troops, the Banteng (wild bull) Raiders, the Air Force's Paskhas special forces, the Navy's marines and the military police.

In Aceh, the troops are to be deployed in the four critical regencies of North Aceh, East Aceh, Bireun and Pidie.

The planned deployment has elicited a strong reaction from the rebels who have stated that they would intensify their military campaign against the soldiers. (25/emf)