New directive may heighten tension in Aceh

New directive may heighten tension in Aceh

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Tension may rise in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province following a
directive issued by Coordinating Minister for Political and
Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono that security
operations against hard-line rebels be intensified.

But, the Indonesian Military (TNI) refused on Tuesday to be
held accountable for the escalating tensions in the troubled
province, contending that security in Aceh was the responsibility
of the police.

"The government has maintained that it will continue to impose
civilian rule, so the police hold the authority, as well as
responsibility for the region.

"We did deploy troops there to assist the police, but we are
not in charge," TNI chief of general affairs Lt. Gen. Djamari
Chaniago told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of a handover
ceremony for the post of TNI chief from Adm. Widodo AS to Gen.
Endriartono Sutarto on Tuesday.

Djamari said the police, along with the TNI, should evaluate
the security situation in Aceh to determine whether they can
still handle the situation, or they should ask the government to
issue other policies."

But, he did not say whether the policy should include a plan
to impose a state of emergency there.

Asked how the TNI could deny responsibility for the security
situation in the region, while the actual number of its troops
deployed there is higher than the police's, Djamari said: "The
number of TNI troops may be more than the police, but as the
government has yet to impose martial law there, we are not
responsible for the situation."

Currently, there are more than 21,000 troops in Aceh, backing
up thousands of policemen. The total number of troops is almost
the equivalent of an entire regional military command.

Following the deployment of these troops, there has been no
open clashes between the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and
the troops in the past few months. But, fresh violence recently
erupted in the province, resulting in the deaths not only of
civilians, but also local councillors and community leaders.

All of these assassinations have been blamed on "unidentified
group(s)" of gunmen.

Susilo asked the TNI and the National Police on Monday to
carry out more focused operations against GAM saying that "the
rebels' actions were already out of control."

His remarks came amid a planned visit by officials of the
Henry Dunant Center -- a Switzerland-based non-governmental
organization which has facilitated a series of peace talks
between the Indonesian government and several GAM
representatives -- to Indonesia, including Aceh.

At the latest peace talks in May, both the government and GAM
agreed to stop violence as a starting point to resolve the
problems in the region.

The agreement was made following the government's previous
decision to run an operation to restore peace and security in
Aceh by deploying thousands of troops in the middle of peace
talks between the two parties.

Susilo said he was concerned with the continuing violence in
Aceh including the recent burning of several schools. He was
quick to add, however, that GAM was responsible for the violence.

"This condition has made it more difficult to believe that GAM
will accept the (government-initiated) special autonomy status as
a final solution," he said.