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ACHEH
NATIONAL ARMED FORCES (TNA) Commander-in-Chief Muzakkir Manaf. |
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PRESS RELEASE
Released by the Military Spokesman, On May 19 the Indonesian government and its security forces launched a massive military offensive against our peaceful people. With the imposition of martial law on that date, more than 50,000 military personal were given a mandate to eliminate the GAM. Since that date almost three weeks ago - almost 400 innocent civilians have been killed, more than 400 arrested, hundreds are missing, seventeen cases of rape have been reported and 450 schools have been burned not to mention hundred of houses destroyed. It is very sad to think of such destruction of life and property in Acheh. The Indonesian government has been quick to blame GAM for such atrocities. But how can this be so when the people of Acheh remain resolute in their support of GAM? If the movement was responsible for such devastation, surely the Achehnese people would turn against us? Instead, the Indonesian government has itself lamented that the task of eliminating GAM is proving more difficult than predicted. The people of Acheh are the movements lifeblood: they are the movement. Indeed, without the support of the local people, perhaps the Indonesians would be able to locate and arrest GAM. The protection given by the local people in the villages and towns of Acheh is proof that the Indonesian military is fighting not only the armed faction of GAM, but the hearts and minds of the Achehnese people: they can never win. The international community has a duty to help relieve the suffering of our people. We call on the governments of the world to pressure the RoI to allow humanitarian assistance to those who need it so much, the innocent civilians in Acheh most of them women and children. We ask that governments do not comply with requests to channel aid through the Indonesian government who will in turn allow the military to distribute food and medical supplies. Under such circumstance, the aid itself becomes an instrument of war as the military will use it to entice civilians to camps where they will be killed, arrested, raped and disappeared. We also call on the concerned international community to put pressure on the Indonesian government to respect the Geneva Convention in its conduct of the war. The Swiss Government has sent its Ambassadors to both parties to demand that they abide by the rules of the convention. Indonesia is clearly not respecting them. Hence it is incumbent on the international community to act accordingly. The National Armed Forces of Acheh is always loyal and obedient to our civilian leaders. We understand that ASNLF is always ready to return to the negotiation table, with the understanding that conditions be set right first by the international community. It was never our desire to see the CoHA collapse. This agreement was fundamentally flawed but had brought some relief from the years of war to the people of Acheh. We must not forget that the CoHA was intended to bring about a cessation of hostilities, and in those very narrow terms, it did have some measure of success. GAM was fully committed to a lengthy process of dialogue to work through each step of the CoHA. It was the Indonesians who decided there had been what Lesley McCulloch has called the creeping internationalisation of the issue, and therefore decided to withdraw from the process.
Sofyan Dawod
on behalf of Muzakkir Manaf |
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