TNI and Brimob clash, three dead in Aceh

TNI and Brimob clash, three dead in Aceh

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Three people died in internal fighting within the Indonesian
security forces in Aceh on Saturday as rebel leaders said they
would attend fresh rounds of peace talks with the Indonesian
government later this month in Switzerland.

Members of the Indonesian Military's (TNI) special force
Kopassus were involved in a gunfight with members of the police's
elite Mobile Brigade (Brimob), leaving three people dead and
three others injured, eyewitnesses and a humanitarian activist
said.

They said that the incident occurred in Lhoksukon, a small
town near the oil and gas field of ExxonMobil, about 30
kilometers east of Lhokseumawe.

Witnesses said that the dead victims were a Kopassus officer,
a Brimob officer and a driver of motorcycle taxi, while the
injured were a woman named Maimunah, and her four-month-old baby,
Silviana.

The victims from the military and police were brought to the
Lilawangsa military hospital, near the small town, while the
injured civilians were treated at nearby Cut Meutia hospital.

They said that they could not identify the military and police
officers as they could not get access to the military hospital.

A humanitarian activist, who refused to be identified, told
The Jakarta Post on Sunday that the gunfight lasted for about 30
minutes after 12:00 midday.

The clash occurred after a Brimob officer traveling on a
motorcycle taxi was shot at by a man wearing civilian dress near
a bus station. Both the motorcycle taxi driver and the Brimob
officer were shot dead.

Seeing their friend had been shot, the Brimob members on duty
at a nearby security post fired at the shooter, who was later
identified as a Kopassus officer.

The incident caused Lhoksukon residents to immediately stop
their activities and stay indoors.

TNI military spokesman in Aceh, Maj. Zaenal Mutaqin denied the
gunfight between the police and Kopassus on Saturday.

"Jamaika wants to tarnish our image by saying that we're not
working in harmony in Aceh," he was quoted by Serambi Indonesia
daily as saying.

The daily, meanwhile, quoted Free Aceh Movement (GAM)
spokesman, Tengku Jamaika, last Saturday as confirming that there
was a gunfight between Brimob and Kopassus in the town.

The government and GAM are expected to discuss efforts to
restore security in Aceh and the implementation of special
autonomy for the province which includes a greater share in
revenue from natural resources and the implementation of Islamic
law.

Another GAM spokesman Tgk. Sofyan Ibrahim said his group had
been notified by the Henry Dunant Centre, the dialog facilitator,
about the peace talk plan.

All GAM negotiators will attend the dialog to be held in
Geneva, he said. "I think it would be strange if GAM negotiators
from Aceh did not attend the meeting," he was quoted by Antara as
saying.

No specified date was mentioned for the talks that would
follow the latest dialog also in Geneva on Feb. 2, 2002, in which
GAM reportedly agreed to discuss the Special Autonomy Law for the
province, implemented by the government in January 2002, as the
basis for future peace talks.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda, however, stopped
short of saying the result of the February talks showed that GAM
had softened its stance toward Indonesia, especially after the
death of its commander Tengku Abdullah Syafi'ie.

"The most important thing is that (GAM) appeared at the
discussions, when before it seemed to be reluctant to engage in
another peace dialog with us ... There will be further meetings
in the near future," he said.

The on-again-off-again dialog between Jakarta and GAM has been
going on for the past two years. However, there were no signs
that the conflict would cease in the near future.

Meanwhile, two people were shot dead by unidentified gunmen in
Aceh, residents told AFP on Saturday.

One of the victims was a 37 year-old employee with state
television TVRI in the Blang Bintang area of Aceh Besar district.

The employee died from loss of blood on Friday night due to
multiple gunshot wounds.

In South Aceh on Thursday, unidentified gunmen opened fire on
a group of people at a food stall in Sawang area, killing one and
wounding at least two others, witnesses said.

As is often the case there were two wildly different
accusations from both sides.

District military chief Lt. Col. Agus Permana claimed that the
shooting was carried out by GAM members.

However, local GAM spokesman Ayah Manggeng denied the
accusation, stating that government troops were responsible for
the incident.

Also on Thursday, two residents were injured when two grenades
hurled by two unidentified men exploded near the office of the
Lamapaseh Kota village chief in Banda Aceh.

Neither side claimed responsibility for the explosions.