Tension grips Aceh before GAM anniversary
By Ibnu Mat Noor, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh
Two trucks and two public utility buildings were burned near here on Monday by unidentified people only a day before the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) was set to commemorate its 25th anniversary of their self-proclaimed independence, according to witnesses.
Spokesman for Aceh's military field operations, Lieut. Col. Firdaus Komarno, claimed GAM members were behind the arson but GAM senior commander Amri Abdul Wahab denied the charges.
Sporadic battles throughout Aceh intensified last week with three people being killed in Padang Sawah village in North Kluet regency, South Aceh on Sunday, about 500 kilometers to the south of Banda Aceh, military officials said.
GAM spokesman in Bireuen and East Aceh regencies said at least 14 army members and two policemen were killed on Sunday and Monday in clashes involving the warring factions.
The claim was refuted by the military.
"There were only two clashes in Blang Birah village in Peudada district Monday but no one was killed," Firdaus asserted.
Meanwhile, intercity public buses including the major Banda Aceh-Lhokseumawe route came to a standstill Monday following the arson. The number of boat passengers on their way from Banda Aceh to Medan had reportedly doubled to 500 people on Monday.
"We do not dare drive our buses following the call for a public strike Monday," a bus driver who works the Banda Aceh- Medan route said.
GAM military spokesman Tengku Abdullah Syafi'ie denied that his group had called for a public strike, Serambi Indonesia daily reported. The rumor was circulated by those intending to provoke Acehnese, he stated.
In Banda Aceh life appeared to be relatively calm with many policemen carrying guns throughout the city.
The ticket counters at bus terminals in Banda Aceh including Setui, Beurawe and Geunta Placa were closed and there were no buses to be seen, Antara reported.
GAM leaders have appealed to the people to stay home Tuesday.
"We are forced to do this to avoid innocent lives being lost in the inevitable clashes between the military and GAM," Amri said.
The military said last week that they would be sweeping villages where GAM members would most likely celebrate their independence ceremony.
The military had previously called on the people, including the media, not to attend any GAM ceremony.
"If GAM refuses to obey our orders we will go after them by land, sea and air," Firdaus warned.
Journalists in the GAM hotbed town of Lhokseumawe told The Jakarta Post that they did not have the courage to cover the GAM ceremony and defy the to military's warning.
"There is a possibility that the military will mount an air attack especially after GAM cautioned us against covering their ceremony (for our own safety)," a journalist who preferred not to be identified said.
Aceh was quieter on Monday than the previous few days which had seen numerous battles. Intercity bus operations in Sigli, about 112 kilometers north of Banda Aceh, were also halted on Monday.
"Government security forces with firearms were seen patrolling road crossings outside of Sigli," Sulaiman Salim, a Sigli resident said.
GAM was established by businessman Hasan Muhammad Tiro on Dec. 4, 1976, to fight for an independent Islamic state.
An estimated 10,000 people have been killed since then, including some 1,600 this year alone, according to rights groups.
The military said last week that they had deployed more than 30,000 troops in Aceh to put down the separatist insurgency.