RI to go ahead with military operation in Aceh

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)