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.