Shoot-on-sight for GAM celebrants
Shoot-on-sight for GAM celebrants
Teuku Agam Muzakkir and Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post,
Lhokseumawe/Banda Aceh, Aceh
The military issued on Tuesday a shoot-on-sight order against all
people who attend the 27th anniversary of the separatist Free
Aceh Movement (GAM) on Dec. 4.
Lt. Col. A.Y. Nasution, the Lilawangsa Military Resort
Commander overseeing northern and eastern parts of Aceh, said
that the order would also be imposed on people who fly and/or
distribute separatist flags.
"We (the military) will not tolerate people in this territory
who join the separatist celebration. No matter who they are, we
will shoot them on sight for supporting the movement," Nasution
said, while calling his troops to intensify patrols across the
territory.
The military will also be looking for GAM sympathizers during
the patrols.
"We also have prepared aircraft to observe the whole territory
directly from the air, and if we find venues which are hosting
the celebrations, we will bombard those places," he asserted.
The situation was calm on Tuesday in the North Aceh town of
Lhokseumawe ahead of the GAM anniversary as many people continued
went about their business more or less in normal manner. Shops
were open and public transportation was operating.
GAM used to mark its anniversary, which falls on Dec. 4, with
parades and flag-raising ceremonies. It also used the occasion in
past years to call for a three-day general strike across the
province, asking Acehnese people to respect the day.
"Those who close their shops and stop operating their public
transportation vehicles will be considered GAM sympathizers,"
Nasution warned.
In Banda Aceh, the Martial Law Administrator Maj. Gen. Endang
Suwarya said that the military had stepped up land, sea and air
patrols to prevent GAM rebels from holding celebrations.
"We will intensify the patrols so that people will not be
encouraged to take part in the celebrations," said Endang, adding
that he has ordered troops to stop any separatist fighters from
forcing people to attend the ceremonies.
Pressure has also mounted against the press covering the Aceh
war with some of them claiming they were being "spied upon" by
intelligence officers.
"It seems so silly that five or six intelligence officers are
following me wherever I go. They even introduced themselves and
said that they have been assigned to 'guard' me," a journalist,
who asked for anonymity, said.
Some journalists feared the policy was aimed at preventing
them from covering the GAM anniversary celebration.
Despite the military's draconian threats, GAM leaders have
said they still intended to mark the date this year as they had
in the past.
President Megawati Soekarnoputri decided on May 19 of this
year to launch a major offensive against the rebels by sending
about 40,000 troops and 12,000 police to put down the decades-
long rebellion, after a five-month-old ceasefire collapsed.
The military claimed to have killed three more rebels in
separate gunfights across the province on Monday.
Spokesman for the Aceh military operation Lt. Col. Ahmad Yani
Basuki said Tuesday the government troops also seized four
firearms and a home-made bomb during the armed clashes.
Basuki said six separatist rebels including a senior leader
had surrendered to the military three weeks after the extension
of military emergency status in the province on Nov. 19.
More than 1,000 GAM members have been killed since then, in
addition to about 319 civilians. Another 2,000 have been arrested
or have surrendered and 485 weapons have been seized, according
to military figures.