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.