TNI considering reestablishing military command in Aceh

Lela E. Madjiah, The Jakarta Post, Lhokseumawe, Aceh

The Indonesian Military (TNI) is considering reestablishing the Iskandar Muda military command, which would be an Aceh- specific military command, if the Acehnese people agree to its resumption, a military commander said here on Sunday.

Currently Aceh province is a part of the Bukit Barisan Military command which encompasses a large portion of Sumatra and includes more checks and balances than an Aceh-only command might have to submit to. Proponents argue it gives the military greater flexibility to keep the peace.

According to Brig. Gen. M. Djali Yusuf, military operations commander in Aceh, the TNI leadership wanted to make sure that the reestablishment of the command received the full support from Acehnese people.

"The decision rests with the TNI leadership, but they have tasked me with securing the support of the Acehnese people for the plan," Djali told The Jakarta Post and SCTV television station here on Sunday.

Djali was in Lhokseumawe to accompany Army Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad) Chief Lt. Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu and Army Special Force (Kopassus) Commander Maj. Gen. Amirul Isnaini, who were visiting troops in the province to celebrate Idul Fitri.

"We did not want another rejection," Djali said, while referring to an aborted 1998 plan by then-Armed Forces commander Gen. Wiranto to reestablish the Aceh command.

"The plan was rejected by the people of Aceh because it came from us (TNI)," said Djali.

Aceh had a separate and exclusive military command until 1985, at which time it was put under the Bukit Barisan military command. Bukit Barisan oversees Aceh, North Sumatra, and Riau provinces.

Djali said recent demands for the immediate reestablishment of the Iskandar Muda command also came from Acehnese provincial and regional administrations as well as legislators.

He said that while the plan would not be executed in the immediate future, he had prepared for several options, including expanding the current task force under his command or completely building a new command, both of which would take time.

"I would suggest that we start with the current task force that is enforced with additional staff," he said.

Earlier on Saturday Ryamizard denounced demands for the withdrawal of troops from the troubled province.

"Aceh is part of the unitary Republic of Indonesia and TNI, as a legitimate institution, has every right to be present in any part of the country, including Aceh," Ryamizard emphatically claimed during a visit to Takengon in the regency of Central Aceh, where he talked to local residents and members of a joint Kostrad-Kopassus unit stationed there.

The joint unit consists of Kopassus members and Kostrad's Tontaipur surveillance platoon.

Abdullah, the head of Simpang Utara village, told Ryamizard that most Gayo residents in the regency wanted a continued presence of the troops because they had helped restore daily activities.

Hamka of Samarkilang village, Syiah Utara subdistrict, supported Abdullah's remarks, saying the troops' presence had helped improve security in the regency.

"If possible we want more troops because if you leave, our lives will be under threat (from members of the Free Aceh Movement)," Abdullah said.

The villagers said before the arrival of the joint troops there was no life in their villages and they could not even harvest their crops for fear of attacks from suspected members of the Free Aceh Movement.

Separately Ryamizard told the Post that the joint unit, which was deployed following the inauguration of Kostrad's Tontaipur surveillance platoon on Aug. 4, had scored a number of successes in military operations against the armed separatists.

"The joint unit has proven effective, in that it has met its targets, and we are planning to start another unit next year," he said.