TNI set for second Aceh pullout

TNI set for second Aceh pullout

Reuters, Jakarta

The Indonesian Military (TNI) will begin withdrawing 6,000 more soldiers from Aceh this week under the second phase of a landmark peace pact ending one of Asia's longest conflicts, a spokesman said on Monday.

Aceh military spokesman Erie Soetiko said 650 troops would leave the province on Tuesday, the same day the armed forces expect former rebels of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to complete the second phase of its weapons handover.

The three-decade insurgency on the northern tip of Sumatra island has killed 15,000 people, mostly civilians. The two sides were pushed back to peace talks in the wake of a massive tsunami on Dec. 26 that left around 170,000 Acehnese dead or missing.

"In total in the second phase we will withdraw another 10 battalions, or around 6,000 people," Erie said.

Troops on Tuesday would leave from the port town of Lhokseumawe and the second phase should be finished by Oct. 24, he said. Among those going will be units from the army's feared Kopassus special forces.

Former rebels began handing over weapons to foreign monitors on Friday under the second stage of arms decommissioning.

Faye Belnis, a spokeswoman for the Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM), said the second phase would be finished this week, although she did not say when. She said while GAM had handed in 235 weapons, some 50 had been disqualified for not meeting agreed criteria.

"We are hoping to do another session this week," she said.

The first round of decommissioning of GAM weapons in September yielded some 240 arms, while the government pulled out 1,500 policemen and around 6,500 soldiers.

Under the Finnish-mediated peace agreement, GAM needs to surrender 840 weapons to peace monitors by year-end during four phases. Indonesia, which had more than 30,000 soldiers and 15,000 policemen in Aceh before the truce, is required to trim its forces to no more than 14,700 soldiers and 9,100 police.

Once handed over, GAM weapons are destroyed. The 226-strong unarmed monitoring mission comprising European and Southeast Asian monitors has the task of ensuring parties stick to the Aug. 15 peace agreement signed in Helsinki.