Swedish-based GAM: 'Talk or fight -- not both'

Aboeprijadi Santoso, Radio Netherlands, Amsterdam

The death of Acehnese rebel commander Abdullah Syafi'ie has hardened the resolve of the Swedish-based GAM (Free Aceh Movement) to achieve its goal of an Aceh independent of Indonesian rule.

Talks in Geneva should be postponed or made conditional, one activist said. "We need to review the overall situation, but we will reject the talks if Indonesia continues its military actions," said a source close to GAM leader (Wali Neugara, Head of State) Hassan M. di Tiro just after Syafi'ie's death was confirmed.

Recently in Rotterdam, he talked at length to Radio Netherlands on condition of anonymity.

A former businessman in Banda Aceh in his early 60s, the aide to Hassan M. di Tiro comes from a Darul Islam (DI) background.

"My father fought with (DI's) Daud Beureu'eh," he said. The aide belongs to a group of first-generation Acehnese, who joined the rebellion in 1976, and is now a GAM state minister.

In the interview, he said he was "not surprised" by the death of Abullah Syafi'ie, who was killed in a gun battle on Jan. 24

"War and martyrdom are part of our tradition -- only last week I talked to him about the military situation," he said, "Although Indonesia sent many soldiers and has intensified its operations, he remained steadfast in his resistance.

"Abdullah was ready to die syahid, or to become a martyr, he said. "Martyrdom is something all Acehnese fighters have realized as a reality ... There will be many more Teungku Abdullahs to come ... "

Teungku Abdullah or Teungku Lah, as Abdullah as he was known, was GAM's second commander. He joined GAM in 1976, and replaced Chik Omar, who himself was killed in 1982.

"The loss of Teungku Abdullah will not sway our confidence in the Acehnese army," the GAM state minister said.

Recently, however, there has been speculations about GAM's military wing, AGAM. The late Syafi'ie had reportedly failed to reign in some AGAM units. Independent observers, meantime, cite instances of extortion and human rights violations.

Perhaps tellingly, Abdullah's first interim successor, Muzakir Manaf, called for the strengthening of "our moral and military discipline," in his first public statement.

GAM claims some 40,000 soldiers in its ranks, though it may be much less. They fall under seven sago, or regional commands, dispersed nationwide.

A significant impetus came when hundreds of GAM troops -- including many who trained in Libya -- and other followers returned to Aceh from Malaysia and Singapore in the time between 1997 and 1999.

Hasan di Tiro's advisor, who keeps close contact with men on the ground, stressed Abdullah's legacy.

"In the last three years, Teungku Abdullah was able to organize Acehnese fighters. Since the fall of Soeharto, we have succeeded in building a force throughout Aceh.

"This is because of new soldiers of good caliber. This enhanced Teungku Abdullah's status from a combat unit leader to the top-commander -- as a figure of our military wing, he viewed the struggle in the regions ... so GAM's army has evolved," he said.

On the possibility of further dialogue with the Indonesian government, he said that if the government wanted talks, "the situation on the ground should be productive -- meaning military actions must stop."

The government, he said, "purposely created this situation. There is no sincere willingness to talk on their part -- for us, there is no point in talking if they continue with violence; we will respond to violence with violence.

"You cannot continue to both talk and fight," he said.

The Geneva talks, scheduled to re-open on Feb. 2, are now likely to be postponed. The negotiations ended in the middle of last year during talks on democratization and human rights monitoring as Jakarta announced its April Presidential Order and started a special military operation command (Kolakops).

The days that the Republic of Indonesia and GAM have met as equals of different persuasions -- in early 2000 -- appear to be long gone.

What remains is a worsening condition in Aceh -- a greater hope for GAM and a greater risk for Jakarta.

GAM's slogan "syahid or win" is fast becoming a reminder of East Timorese leader Xanana Gusmao's declaration of "patria ou morte" (fatherland or death) that rallied East Timor following the 1991 military massacre at the Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili that ultimately led to independence.

With impunity for past atrocities likely to continue under a new military regional command in Aceh, the troubled province may soon have its own "Santa Cruz."