TNI starts Aceh pullout

TNI starts Aceh pullout

Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Lhokseumawe

Around 800 Indonesian Military (TNI) soldiers left Aceh on Sunday
as the mass withdrawal of reinforcement troops from the province
agreed under the recent peace deal began.

The troops, from two infantry battalions, set sail from Krueng
Geukueh port in Lhokseumawe aboard the KRI Teluk Sampit naval
vessel after six months of duty in the province.

Iskandar Muda Military Commander Maj. Gen. Supiadin said that
about 6,000 troops from 11 battalions would be pulled out of the
province in the coming week as part of the peace agreement signed
in Helsinki on Aug. 18.

The withdrawal of the troops will take place in four stages
that must be completed by Dec. 31, while the Free Aceh Movement
(GAM) must simultaneously surrender 840 weapons.

Over the past few days, GAM has surrendered 279 weapons to the
Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM), but 30 of them were rejected for
failing to meet the agreed standards and 23 others are still
being verified.

"This is a good start to the peace process," AMM chief Pieter
Feith said after witnessing the pullout of the troops.

Sunday's troop withdrawal followed the departure of some 1,300
troopers from the police's paramilitary Mobile Brigade on
Wednesday.

As a goodwill gesture, the TNI had earlier withdrawn around
1,200 troops from Aceh a few days after the Indonesian government
and GAM hammered out the peace accord.

European Union and Southeast Asian monitors grouped in the AMM
are overseeing the withdrawal of some 25,000 TNI soldiers and
5,000 police personnel from Aceh, the disarmament of GAM and
further steps to create lasting peace in the province, where
15,000 people have died in three decades of armed conflict.

Two previous peace agreements were short-lived.

AP reported that the departing troops chanted and waved their
helmets in the air as they marched aboard the warship.

"I have been here 18 months, most of which time I have spent
in the jungle," said Pvt. Gatot Broto as he boarded the ship. "I
am just very happy to be going home."

But many remain wary because of the collapse of earlier
accords, and were closely watching to see if the military and the
insurgents actually abide by the deal.

"The war with GAM is now over and I am looking forward to
seeing my family," said another soldier, Pvt. Suhardi. "If we are
told to leave, we leave. If we are told to go to war, then we
have to wage war."

TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, however, expressed
satisfaction with GAM for showing its commitment to the peace
agreement.

"We thank GAM and feel surprised by their moves to comply with
the peace accord," Endriartono said after attending a gathering
of military and police retirees in Jakarta on Saturday.

But he warned GAM against displaying or possessing weapons
after the disarmament process finishes at the end of the year.

"If that happens, the TNI will take the necessary legal
measures against them," Endriartono said.

Efforts to end the conflict in Aceh picked up pace after the
Dec. 26 tsunami swept the province, killing some 130,000 people
and leaving a half million others homeless in the province.