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| Southeast Asia |
| Forget peace talks, just crush rebels: Jakarta |
| 2002-06-26 |
| The Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) has received crucial backing from legislators to use force against separatists in Aceh as a military offensive grew imminent in the troubled province. But doubts emerged whether the TNI's hardline option would be effective given the deeply entrenched nature of the insurgency in the area that is complicated by guerilla warfare and the military's acute shortage of weapons. Amris Fuad Hassan, who attended a parliamentary commission hearing on Monday where the newly installed army chief, General Endriartono Sutarto, made a pitch for the use of force not just in Aceh but other trouble spots such as Irian Jaya, said 'peaceful dialogue is no longer an option. The unity of Indonesia should never be taken for granted.' The unity of Indonesia's probably about as precarious as it can get. That's because it's an artificial construct. Observers said the military might have secured 'vital insurance' by securing parliamentary support for a blitzkrieg against the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). And with a political umbrella now, it could crush the rebels without any fear of being accused of human rights abuses. For a start, it carved out another strategic zone for itself in the country by deploying troops there and appointing a one-star general to head the command. It scored another victory by earlier killing GAM commander Tengku Abdullah Syafi'ie. Free Aceh Movement wants independence for Aceh, which is the northern fifth or so of Sumatra, and it's recently said it wants all of Sumatra to break off from Indonesia. Given the ham-handed local administration, it's understandable. The Indonesian army just hates it when meddlers accuse it of human rights violations, which happens regularly since they don't appear to have any conception of human rights. Free Aceh wants to establish — surprise! — an Islamic state, but doesn't appear to have drawn the Soddy bucks the way Lashkar Jihad and Jemaah Islamiya have. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #1 However, the Organization of the Islamic Conference defends the "territorial integrality" of Indonesia, while it favors "self-determination" in Jammu and Kashmir, and the Phillipines. Gee, that sounds fair. |
| Posted by: RG Fulton 2002-06-26 14:14:15 |