RI to go ahead with military operation in Aceh

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian Military Commander Adm. Widodo A.S. said on Tuesday a limited military operation in Aceh was necessary because the police could no longer handle security disturbances in the province.

"In a Cabinet meeting, the government declared the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatists. Therefore a proportional security action is a must since crushing separatist activities is not part of the National Police's duties," Widodo said during a break in a meeting to discuss political, social and security affairs.

Widodo, however, said the military operation was only "a small piece" of the comprehensive approach being taken by the government to ensure peace in Aceh.

"To solve the problems in Aceh, the government has taken steps in the fields of politics, the economy, the legal system, public order, security itself and also information," he said.

In Aceh, tension rose in Bireun and North Aceh regencies despite the two areas being declared "security zones" by field commanders from GAM and the Indonesian military.

A series of blasts on Sunday and Monday shook North Aceh and Bireun, the deputy spokesman of the police's Cinta Meunasah II operation, Comr. Sudarsono, told The Jakarta Post by phone.

"Rebels tossed a grenade at the Bank Indonesia building and the Pertamina oil depot in Lhokseumawe, the capital (of North Aceh), on Monday night about 10 p.m.," Sudarsono said, adding that there were no casualties in the blasts.

And at about 10:45 p.m. on the same day, unidentified men threw a grenade at the Pertamina depot in Hagu Tengoh village in Banda Sakti district.

It also was reported that a provincial legislator from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), O.K. Ibrahim, disappeared while traveling from Banda Aceh to Medan, the capital of the neighboring province of North Sumatra.

Antara news agency quoted Aceh councillors as saying Ibrahim left Banda Aceh for Medan on Saturday aboard a public bus, but as of Tuesday there was no word on his whereabouts.

"A friend of his in Banda Aceh tried to check on him because no one had heard any news of him, but his cellular phone was inactive," one councillor said.

It is suspected that he went missing somewhere between North Aceh and East Aceh.

A woman who picked up the phone at Ibrahim's house said he had not contacted his family as of Tuesday.

Separately in Banda Aceh, the prosecutor in the trial of Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA) chairman Muhammad Nazar asked the court to sentence the proindependence activist to one year in prison. The trial will resume next Tuesday, at which time the court will hear from the defense.

Meanwhile, nine people were killed in Aceh on Monday and Tuesday, two of them young girls.

In North Aceh, gunmen in Padang Sakti village fired on a jeep carrying a man identified as Karimuddin and his 12-year-old daughter, Rosita. The girl died at the scene while her father, an employee of PT Arun LNG Co., was injured. The attack took place at about 7 a.m. on Tuesday.

"The rebels attacked the jeep, shooting and killing the girl," North Aceh Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Wanto Sumardi said.

Also in North Aceh, a woman identified as Lina A. Gani was found dead in Bunot village, Syamtalira Bayu district, on Monday. The discovery of the body followed an overnight gunfight between rebels and security forces near the Syamtalira Bayu Military Command subdistrict office.

"The body was found after the gunfight ended," Wanto said.

In South Aceh, the bodies of two people were found in separate locations on Monday and Tuesday, police officer Sudarsono said.

The body of Amir Budiman was found on Tuesday near the regency hall in Tapak Tuan. His neck had been slashed and he had burns on parts of his face.

"He has been missing since March 13," an activist who requested anonymity said.

In East Aceh, two people were shot and killed on Monday, one of them a young girl. The shooting took place in a market in Peurelak district, according to witnesses.

In Central Aceh, a man identified as Karjiman was stabbed to death by an alleged rebel in Simpang Tiga, Bukit district, on Monday, Sudarsono said.

And the body of Muhamad Adam was found in Meunasah Capa village, Jeumpa district, Bireun regency, on Monday, an activist said. The victim appeared to have been shot. (edt/02/50)