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"Declaration of War" on the Acehnese people. (Agence France-Presse, February 8, 2002) Aceh separatist rebels say Jakarta is declaring war on the people Separatist rebels in Indonesia's Aceh province have criticized Jakarta's decision to extend military operations there as a "declaration of war" on the Acehnese people. Top security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Thursday announced the extension of military operations in the energy-rich province on the north of Sumatra island. It is part of a five-point presidential decree authorising
continued The decision is "undeniable proof that the government has once again surrendered to military (armed forces) pressure", said Sofyan Daud, the military spokesman of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), in a written statement received Friday. "Just as the public breathes a sigh of relief following signs of decreasing violence after dialogues in Geneva, the Indonesian government has once again enforced its bloodthirsty lust." On Thursday Yudhoyono said "armed disturbances" by GAM rebels must be "annihilated" but added that "appropriate treatment" would be given to those who surrender. Daud said officials in Jakarta had "mistakenly calculated their adversary because of false reports from military commanders in Aceh suggesting that they are highly successful". He added: "It is ironic that while the public is hoping that violence would cease in Aceh ... the government declares war on the Acehnese people." Indonesian government representatives and the exiled leadership of GAM met last weekend in Switzerland and "agreed to a period of confidence-building in which they will cease hostilities and then move towards democratic elections in Aceh in 2004". But in what rights activists labelled a setback to the peace process, Jakarta on Tuesday officially inaugurated a separate military command for Aceh, a unit which was disbanded 17 years ago. They say the revived command will only exacerbate violence in Aceh, where more than 1,700 people were killed last year alone. Almost 200 people have already died this year. Thursday's separate decree authorises continued military operations in the province, where GAM has waged a war for independence since 1976. Related News:
 Please stop the extremely human right abuses that still going on in front of you now. You as the closest witness in this area can tell the peoples in the world ...
The all-of-sudden decision taken by the Acheh Sumatra National Liberation Front - ASNLF - to pull out the16-18 November talks in Geneva last week, has taken Jakarta aback.
by Timo Kivimäki Achenese independence fighters are not Muslim fanatics, They do not have a quarrel with the United States. They do not target innocent people, but instead defend themselves against military aggression.
Relation with the British, 1760-1824 LEE KAM HING, University of Malaya The British came closest to securing a base in Acheh during this period when he later was looked upon as an invaluable entrepot to support their China trade and as a possible naval base to protect British interests in the region against other European powers.
Teuku Don Zulfahri This is the second political assassination on MP GAM members in Kuala Lumpur within two months. On the tenth of April, 2000, the mercenaries of Malik Mahmud had brutally murdered a member of MP GAM, ...
By: M. Yusuf Daud (The Jakarta Post, November 27, 1999 Editorial and Opinion) STOCKHOLM, Sweden (JP): The struggle of the oppressed peoples of the world for their right to self-determination has often been overshadowed by the notion of so-called "territorial integrity" and the principle of noninterference in the "internal affairs" of a sovereign state. |
