Police free five of six detained GAM negotiators

Police free five of six detained GAM negotiators

BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): Police released five of the six
detained Free Aceh Movement (GAM) negotiators on Wednesday
afternoon.

The five -- Amni Ahmad Marzuki, Amdi Hamdani, Teuku
Kamaruzzaman, Muhammad Usman and Sofyan Ibrahim Tiba -- left Aceh
Police Headquarters at 5:05 p.m. and some 10 minutes later were
taken by a Henry Dunant Center car to Kuala Tripa Hotel, also in
Banda Aceh.

Another GAM negotiator, Nashiruddin Ahmad, is still being
detained in connection with a passport forgery case and will soon
be flown to the Jakarta Police Headquarters for further
questioning.

On Tuesday Aceh police said they had extended the detention of
the negotiators for another 40 days after their original
detention expired on Aug. 9.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said earlier that President Megawati
Soekarnoputri had approved their release.

GAM's legal representative Rufriadi said on Wednesday the five
released negotiators had to report their whereabouts to the
police twice a week, pending the prosecution of their case.

Five of the six were arrested in mid-July at a hotel which
they have used as an office here. The sixth was arrested at his
home in Aceh on Aug. 4.

The GAM negotiators were previously charged under Article 106
of the Criminal Code for treason against the state.

Police spokesman for Aceh's Law and Order Operation Adj. Sr.
Comr. Sad Harunantyo told The Jakarta Post by phone from Banda
Aceh that the GAM negotiators had to be available when called by
the police for further questioning.

"What I'm saying is that people must question the function of
the HDC (Henry Dunant Center) here. HDC never bothered to fight
for the release of the state-owned television station TVRI crew
or Aceh legislators who had been kidnapped by GAM, but it is
making such a big fuss over (the detained) GAM negotiators. Not
all of the Aceh people are GAM rebels. We must question their
(the Henry Dunant Center's) objectivity here," Harunantyo said.

Three TVRI crew members have been detained by GAM for several
weeks now.

Meanwhile, President Megawati's plan to visit the restive
province, whose official name is now Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, is
still being discussed in Jakarta.

State/Cabinet Secretary Bambang Kesowo was quoted by Antara as
saying on Wednesday that the President planned to leave for Aceh
on Sept. 2.

"But the final discussion on that would be held on August 31
for sure," he said.

Megawati previously offered an apology to the Aceh and Irian
Jaya people for human rights violations committed under previous
government policies.

Last week Susilo led a group of government officials,
including some ministers, to visit Aceh.

GAM spokesman Sofyan Daud told the Post at that time that the
visit was more a tourist excursion than a serious effort to stop
violence in Aceh.

Sofyan said that any Indonesian officials visiting Aceh,
including Megawati, would be considered tourists.

Security has so far been the main concern restricting
Indonesian officials from visiting Aceh.

Lt. Gen. Djamari Chaniago, chief of military general affairs,
said separately that the military was ready to guard Megawati
despite threats from GAM.

Separatist groups have been fighting since the 1970s for an
independent Islamic state in the resource-rich province on the
northernmost tip of Sumatra.

An imbalance in the distribution of revenue derived from the
natural resources between the central government and the province
has become a major principle motivating the separatism.

More than 1,200 people have been reportedly killed this year
alone, most of them since the military launched an anti-rebel
crackdown in April.

The government recently passed a special autonomy bill for
Aceh into law, which specifies that more of the province's
revenues are retained by the province. (edt/50/sur)