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| Southeast Asia |
| Aceh Rebels Reject CNN Report As Propaganda |
| 2002-07-10 |
| The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has denied a report that claims it was in cahoots with Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda terrorist network. A spokesman for GAM’s exiled leaders in Sweden, Zaini Abdullah, on Wednesday told Kyodo News the source of the report presumably came from the Indonesian government, which wants to discredit the separatist group. “We know nothing about Al-Qaeda and we have never had any contact with Al-Qaeda because GAM is not fighting for an Islamic state but for independence," he said. From what I've read on them, they emphasize the Islamic character of their rebellion. It this an indication this is not a good time to be an Islamist? He was referring to a CNN news item that cited an intelligence report revealing that bin Laden wanted to relocate Al-Qaeda’s main base from Afghanistan to Aceh in 2000. "That was a fake report made by the Indonesian government as a [form of] propaganda to label us as a terrorist group," said Abdullah. The CNN report said an Indonesian man, Agus Dwikarna, had guided Al-Qaeda members during a visit to Aceh in 2000. It could be an effort by the Indonesian government to smear GAM with the bin Laden brush. My guess would be that they scouted and either decided against it or put it on the back burner. I have a hard time visualizing Binny and his Arabs riding their camels to hot 'n' steamy Sumatra. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |