Surprise exit shocks journalists

Five journalists panicked when they saw GAM military chief Muzakir Manaf suddenly leave the swearing-in ceremony with a stony expression, because they had already waited one night for an interview with him.

"We failed again," a journalist shouted. About 100 GAM officers also looked surprised when they saw their boss leave without saying anything while the meeting was still going on.

Armed with M-16 guns, his four adjutants followed the four- star general.

Journalists, including a cameraman from SCTV, followed him closely when Muzakir went to an open well behind the school building where the meeting was going on. About 30 soldiers guarding the meeting outside the school saluted their supreme commander.

His adjutants did not allow journalists to follow him as he left the venue in a Kijang van. The adjutants were nervous when they saw Muzakir looking so tense. The journalists were desperate because they thought the general had left without talking to them first.

However, they were all relieved when they saw Muzakir return, looking more relaxed. One of his aides said the general had just returned from a nearby river.

"As there is no toilet here, the commander had to go to the river to relieve himself," the aide said with a big smile.

When he reentered the meeting venue, all of the participants rose and gave a military salute to their boss. They might have thought he had just returned from a more urgent meeting.

"I understand now why he looked so tense," a journalist whispered to his friend. -- JP