Separatists say no to Laskar Jihad in Aceh

Separatists say no to Laskar Jihad in Aceh

Ibnu Mat Noor, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

The Acehnese people, the local elite and the Free Aceh Movement
(GAM) have responded coldly to Laskar Jihad's plan to hold a mass
gathering to mark its official entrance in the strife-torn
province.

GAM spokesman Ayah Sofyan warned Laskar Jihad, a militant
Muslim group, against holding the planned mass gathering that
could raise further conflict in the restive province.

"The conflict in Aceh is between Acehnese people and the
Indonesian government and it is political in nature and not
sectarian. With the planned gathering, Lasjkar Jihad is trying to
turn the current war into a horizontal conflict," he told The
Jakarta Post by cellular phone on Friday.

Laskar Jihad made an announcement in daily newspaper Serambi
Indonesia on Feb. 14, 2002, saying that the grand meeting would
be held at the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque in the city on Feb. 18,
2002.

Sofyan said the Aceh conflict could not be solved with the new
special autonomy laws, including the enforcement of the Islamic
law, because what the Indonesian government offered was not true
Islamic law.

GAM has also opposed the fund-raising conducted by certain
Muslim groups, to be used to help troubled Muslims outside the
province, saying Acehnese people are facing financial
difficulties to pay the war for their independence.

"Instead of waging jihad in Ambon, it is better for Acehnese
people to join GAM to drive the Indonesian ruler out of the
province," said Sofyan.

Ammi bin Achmad Marzuki, a GAM negotiator, warned that the
presence of Laskar Jihad commander Ja'far Umar Thalib in the city
was dangerous because there was an indication that they (Laskar
Jihad) were trying to turn the war into a sectarian conflict.

"We remain alert because non-Muslim people in the province
have gained protection from GAM in accordance with the Islamic
teaching," he said.

Ammi called on local clerics in the province not to allow
Laskar Jihad to hold the grand gathering, saying GAM would not
take responsibility for any possible incidents during the
meeting.

Members of the Aceh provincial legislature gave a cold
response to the planned grand meeting, saying they had no
objections to the gathering as long as it did not disturb the
situation in the provincial capital.

"We will ask local security authorities to disband the
gathering if it is found to be inciting local people to exert
violence or disrupt the political stability," Mustafa Abdullah,
chairman of the legislature's Commission A on defense and
security.

Muhammad Kasim, a road-side vendor, said Laskar Jihad could
not force change.

"Acehnese people want peace to reign in the province. We are
bored with the war. It's Laskar Jihad's right to come to the
province but they have no authority to force locals to do things
against their will," he said.

Muhammad Kasim, another road-side trader, said many people
were unsettled after hearing of Laskar Jihad's plan to hold a
mass gathering at the grand mosque.

"We do not want Aceh to become another Ambon or Poso," he
said.

Laskar Jihad have previously deployed militia to wage an
armed Jihad in support of Muslims in Poso in Central Sulawesi and
Maluku. Recent peace treaties have been signed.