Security forces to guard state facilities in troubled Aceh

BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): In anticipation of fresh bomb attacks, the police here have plans to deploy security personnel to protect government buildings, an officer said on Tuesday.

Aceh Police chief Brig. Gen. Chaerul R. Rasyid said the security forces would help the local government resume public services, which have been crippled by the prolonged violence.

"Once government activities return to normal, we will withdraw the personnel," Chaerul told Antara.

He said the decision was taken following a spate of attacks, using homemade bombs and grenades, by separatist rebels on government facilities over the past two years.

The Aceh Human Rights Forum has revealed that since the start of the extended Humanitarian Pause on Sept. 3 alone, the attacks have destroyed at least 14 government buildings.

The latest armed attack took place on Tuesday as some 20 alleged separatist rebels raided and stole 16,000 packages of explosives from a warehouse belonging to oil and gas company Exxon Mobil in Mamplam village, Tanah Luas district, North Aceh Police chief Supt. Abadan Bangko said.

Separately, the Indonesian representative on the Banda Aceh- based Joint Committee for Security Modalities, which monitors the implementation of the Humanitarian Pause, Sr. Supt. Ridwan Karim, denied allegations that Jakarta had launched military operations to restore order in the troubled province.

"The Indonesian government has never conducted any military operation in Aceh. The operation now underway is a routine one and is being undertaken by the police to create a conducive atmosphere in the province," Ridwan told state television channel TVRI on Tuesday.

He added that the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels had accepted the police's responsibility of upholding the law.

"The police only carry out routine operations, which, unlike what some people may perceive, are different from military ones," Ridwan said.

When asked about the involvement of soldiers in such operations, Ridwan said that that was not against the law.

Separately, the GAM representative on the Joint Committee, Sofyan Ibrahim Tiba, described the police routine operations as "military operations conducted by the police", as they always entailed abductions and arson attacks on residents' houses.

He said such operations violated the pause, which was originally aimed at finding a solution to the Aceh problem and creating peace and security so as to allow humanitarian aid to reach the people who needed it.

Sofyan added that the humanitarian pause agreed on by GAM and the Indonesian government set certain preconditions, including the termination of military operations and the removal of roadblocks from several major highways, but that these had never been fulfilled.

The Commission on Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) also criticized the government for maintaining repressive measures during the Humanitarian Pause.

Speaking at a media briefing in Jakarta on Monday, Kontras chairman Munarman said the government had failed to make further efforts to solve the problems in Aceh, including the holding of negotiations for a cease-fire.

He said that a recent investigation conducted by Kontras in the province showed that during the first month of the second phase of the pause, 109 people, mostly civilians, had been killed.

The rights body suggested that an independent third party be involved in supervising the implementation of the Humanitarian Pause, apart from the government and GAM. (50/lup/bby)