Unilateral truce breaks down in Aceh

Unilateral truce breaks down in Aceh

Ibnu Mat Noor, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

The unilateral truce announced by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) on
Nov. 4 broke down on Wednesday when GAM rebels and military
soldiers exchanged gunfire in North Aceh, leaving five people
dead including one soldier.

The military said it deployed soldiers in light tanks and
armored personnel carriers to patrol a concentration of rebels in
a swampy area in Nissam subdistrict, North Aceh.

The local military spokesman, Lt. Col. Firdaus Komarno, said
the gunfight occurred while the score of deployed soldiers were
conducting their routine patrol in the GAM stronghold.

"We deployed a number of personnel but the operation was
conducted not to destroy but to separate civilians from rebels,"
he told The Jakarta Post here on Wednesday.

Sofyan Dawod, a district commander and spokesman for GAM, said
the rebels were surrounded by soldiers who sealed the area around
Paya Cot Trieng in North Aceh.

"Not just me but more than 200 guerrillas and citizens have
been surrounded by a blockade by Indonesian soldiers for the past
week," he told the Post by satellite telephone.

Other senior GAM military leaders, including GAM commander
Muzakhir Manaf, were also believed to be in the blockaded area
but they escaped.

There was no confirmation of the casualty claim. Komarno said
exchanges of fire were continuing in Nisam but he had no reports
of casualties.

But he did say one soldier and four rebels were killed and two
soldiers wounded in nearby Central Aceh district on Monday.

GAM declared a unilateral ceasefire for the fasting month of
Ramadhan, which began on Wednesday.

Sofyan warned the violation of the ceasefire put peace talks
in limbo, and accused the military of not wanting to end the
prolonged conflict that has claimed the lives of thousands of
people, the majority of them civilians.

He said the rebels did not attack security personnel, only
firing back at them in self-defense

The military in Aceh expressed appreciation for GAM's
unilateral ceasefire, but said it would continue operations in
order to create a secure atmosphere for the Acehnese.

"Security restoration operations will continue as usual, as
they are efforts to improve security during the fasting month,"
said Maj. Gen. Djali Yusuf, chief of the Iskandar Muda Military
Command overseeing Aceh, during a press conference here on
Wednesday.

He said the military welcomed GAM's unilateral truce, but
added that it had been deceived by GAM many times in the past.

"As evidence, GAM has used the current situation to resupply
its arms stocks, as happened on Tuesday," he said, adding that
past pauses in hostilities were also used by GAM to recruit new
members.

Earlier on Wednesday, police said they had seized a shipment
of weapons in Besitang, which borders North Sumatra.

Djali also expressed his disappointment with six Acehnese
leaders he said failed to represent the grievances of the people
of Aceh during a recent meeting with GAM leaders in Geneva.

"The six should have explained the true situation in Aceh so
the peace talks scheduled for November 3 and 4 were not
unilaterally postponed by GAM," he said.

GAM decided to delay the dialog after meeting with the six
leaders, who included Imam Sudja, Muslim Ibrahim and Hakim Nyak
Pha, at the Henry Dunant Centre in Geneva.

GAM and the Indonesian government have already agreed to
discuss further the implementation of special autonomy and direct
elections for Aceh governors and regents, as well as the
establishment of a monitoring team to observe a planned
ceasefire.

The two sides have agreed to a number of ceasefires in the
past but none have held, with violations by both sides.

GAM has been fighting for independence since 1976, pushed by
the government's failure to fulfill its promises to the province
and rampant human rights abuses in the territory.

The latest effort by the government to resolve the Aceh
conflict involves the provision of special treatment, authority
and fiscal balance under Law No. 18/2001 on special autonomy in
the province.