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TITLE: Indonesian Military Heading for Aceh, Rebels Plant Land Mines |
AUTHOR: Christine Lhokseumawe |
PUB: Kyodo News Service |
DATE: March 15, 2001 |
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Dozens of Indonesian military vehicles and troops were heading for the restive province of Aceh on Thursday. No official announcement of a start of military operations has been made, however. Tanks and trucks carrying Indonesian troops were seen moving along the main road from the Aceh provincial capital of Banda Aceh to the North Sumatra provincial capital of Medan, in preparation for what has been termed a 'limited security operation' against separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels. At least six military trucks, apparently intended for an attack on a GAM base in North Aceh regency, turned back after one of them hit a land mine about 5 kilometers from the base, police sources said, adding there were no casualties in the explosion. GAM sources said they have planted land mines up to 10 km from the base. In an interview with Kyodo News in Banda Aceh, Aceh's Teuku Umar Military Subdistrict Commander Col. Syarifuddin Tippe refused to give details of the operations.'I have no idea...I have not received any instructions from TNI (Indonesian Defense Force) headquarters,' Tippe said, blaming political leaders in Jakarta, including Coordinating Minister for Political, Social and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, for making decisions without coordinating with the TNI. On Monday, Yudhoyono announced the government had decided to conduct a limited security operation to crack down on GAM leaders. A well-trained TNI unit would carry out the operation, he said.Yudhoyono did not disclose when it would take place, but military sources in Aceh told Kyodo News it could start Thursday. They also said some members of the unit had arrived in the province aboard a C-130 Hercules aircraft last Saturday. TNI spokesman Rear Marshall Graito Usodo said the operations are secret and no details will be announced, but added that the military would cooperate with the police. The operation will be the first of its kind since 1953, when one was conducted to crack down on rebels led by Daud Beureuh, who proclaimed Aceh a separate Islamic republic. Tension in the province has been escalating over the past few weeks, forcing five companies, including a subsidiary of ExxonMobil Corp. of the United States, to suspend business in Lhokseumawe. Since Saturday, their foreign and non-Acehnese Indonesian staff have been flown out of the province for security. The government and the GAM reached an agreement in Geneva on Feb. 16 on new security measures to reduce violence in the province, which include authorizing regular meetings of field commanders from both sides and continued use of a hot line for alerts about outbreaks of fighting. Sporadic fighting between government and rebel forces has been seen since a cease-fire agreement was signed in Geneva last May. Hard-liners on both sides have been stepping up calls to abandon the armistice. The GAM declared independence from Indonesia in 1976, sparking the Indonesian military to launch campaigns to stamp out the rebel movement. The oil- and gas-rich province was wracked by separatist, police and military violence during a decade of antirebel operations that ended soon after then President Suharto was ousted from office in 1998 after 32 years in power. END |