ACHEH-SUMATRA NATIONAL LIBERATION FRONT
ACHEH NATIONAL ARMED FORCES
CENTRAL MILITARY COMMAND

POLICY STATEMENT
April 27, 2003

Considering the political development between the Indonesian Government (GoI) and Acheh lately, the TNA wishes to state its position as follows:

1. We remain fully committed to the CoHA as instructed by our Head of State, Wali Negara, although the GoI is blatantly demonstrating its bad faith as concerns the continuation of the CoHA.

2. We firmly uphold the decision of the Free Acheh Movement to solve the conflict in Acheh through political and non-violent means without any time limit.

3. We shall remain in defensive position although the Indonesian side has been doing many and very serious provocations such as pulling out from its own proposal to convene the Joint Committee (JC), announcing military operations, carrying out small scaled combat operations, carrying out intelligent activities, carrying out kidnappings of GAM civilians functionaries and TNA members as well as innocent civilians, reinforcing combat troops, and other forms of serious provocation and violence.

4. We support fully the aspiration of the Achehnese people to free themselves of the shackle of colonialism from any source. The Nation of Acheh has existed since more than a thousand years. The modern Nation of Acheh, which was sovereign and having diplomatic relations had existed since the XIV century. Consequently it won’t disappear under the occupation of a colonial power whose name has never been written in history before just a few years ago. The Acheh homeland is for Achehnese. If the Nation of Acheh did not exist, God Almighty would not have created the people of Acheh.

5. If the Republic of Indonesia persisted in defending its colonialism on the people of Acheh through military operations, the TNA, together with the entire people of Acheh who love freedom, will defend this Nation in equal manner and we are ready to give valuable lessons to the colonialists such as experienced by Patih Gajahmada from Majapahit in the time past.

6. The plan to send additional Kopassus troops to Acheh does not frighten the TNA. In fact, this would facilitate our forces to extract repayment of blood debts owed by this heinous and barbaric unit of the Indonesian Army that had taken thousands of innocent Achehnese lives during the DOM period. This way TNA does not need to go to Java to perform this extraction, they will come here to deliver their lives in Acheh. The people of Acheh need not worry; the weapons of the elite unit of the TNA do not differ much from those of the Kopassus.

In the matter of Jakarta’s allegation that GAM was responsible for the bombing at Jakarta airport:

1. GAM rejects all these wild and baseless allegations thrown around by GoI leaders. It has become habitual for the GoI to accuse and link GAM to any bombing action in this region. Sometime ago the GoI accused GAM as being terrorists. It was then proven that it is the GoI itself that supported and reared terrorist groups such as the JI and the Lasykar Jihad, the Pujakesuma, Pugakesuma militia groups, and other militia organizations with terrorist characteristics in Java and in Acheh.

2. TNA has never ordered its soldiers to carry out combat operations outside Acheh. As such, the GoI’s allegation that GAM was involved in the Jakarta airport bombing constitutes cheap and tendentious propaganda signaling a spirit of hopelessness.

Military Central Command,

TNA Spokesman,

signed: Tgk. Sofyan Dawod