School not priority for TNI operation

School not priority for TNI operation

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

With the burning of at least 248 schools, the Indonesian
Military (TNI) has apparently failed to anticipate attacks on
schools by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), if the military claim is
indeed true that the arson was conducted by the rebels.

Schools were not in the list of facilities to be protected by
the TNI as TNI had focussed on safeguarding vital facilities such
as oil and gas plants, radio and TV stations, telephone offices
as well as government offices.

Moreover, according to TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, TNI
did not also provide troops to protect areas where the majority
of the people support GAM such as Bireuen and Pidie regencies,
where most of the fires occurred.

"Since Bireuen is widely known as a GAM stronghold where most
residents support the movement, we (the TNI) did not foresee that
GAM would attack them.

"People in Bireuen are also uncooperative with us, but I hope
they will learn now that GAM has caused suffering to them,"
Endriartono said on Wednesday.

He added that the military had deployed reinforcement marine
soldiers to the regency to hunt down GAM members and restore
security.

Meanwhile in Jakarta, National Police spokesman Brig. Gen.
Edward Aritonang disclosed on Wednesday that the police had
arrested 12 suspected arsonists, all GAM rebels.

Aritonang, however, did not disclose where they were arrested
nor their identities.

The burning down of 248 school buildings has meant that more
than 60,000 students in Aceh will be unable to study.

Coordinating Minister of People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla said
that the government was preparing tents as temporary schools for
the affected students.

"We hope the emergency schools will be open in the next one or
two weeks," he said in a press conference together with Minister
of Education Abdul Malik Fajar, Minister of Health Achmad Sujudi
and Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh.

Malik Fajar said that his ministry would recruit senior
students from Syah Kuala University as temporary teachers during
the war.

He also said that the government had allocated some Rp 30
billion (US$3.3 million) in funds to build emergency schools and
recruit teachers.

"Our ministry will also send a team from Jakarta to Aceh to
help resolve the problems related to the burning down of the
schools," he said.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), the United Nations Children's Fund
(Unicef) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) announced on Wednesday that they would
dispatch 300 emergency school kits along with 50 school tents to
Aceh for displaced students.

They also called on both warring parties to protect
educational facilities from destruction.