---------------------------------------------------------- FREE for JOIN Indonesia Daily News Online via EMAIL: go to: http://www.indo-news.com/subscribe.html - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - Please Visit Our Sponsor http://www.indo-news.com/cgi-bin/ads1 ---------------------------------------------------------- The Indonesian Observer, 22 July 1999 Retired General Warns of Misleading Views on Aceh JAKARTA (IO) - A former military chief of socio-political affairs has warned against misleading views on the current situation in the restive province of Aceh. "We have to be neutral now and seek the truth about what's really going on in Aceh," retired Lieutenant General Harsudiyono Hartas told the Observer last night. He said allegations of human rights atrocities by the Indonesian military voiced out intensively by the separatist movement in Aceh must be proven first before an overall conclusion is made. "The separatist movement's propaganda machine has succeeded in making people believe that Aceh should secede from Indonesia. That is not the case, what about the nationalist Acehnese loyal to the republic, they should be represented too," he said. Hartas spoke amid an upsurge of violence in Aceh between separatist rebels and the military. Dozens of people have been killed in clashes over the past three months. The mounting unrest there may be posing a serious threat to Indonesian unity. The violence has not stopped, however, and parts of the province were hit by a mass poll boycott during the June 7 election, its first democratic vote since 1955. Aceh has a history of resisting central rule going back to colonial days. There is also widespread resentment that much of its mineral wealth was siphoned off by the central government during the New Order rule. Hartas said historically Indonesia was created as a unitary state and military doctrine emphasizes protecting and maintaining the unity of the nation. "We can't let Aceh secede or in a broader spectrum, allow the disintegration of Indonesia," he said. Asked what if people demand that the military withdraw from Aceh, Hartas said: "If that is the real demand of the people, then the military should give it a try. Withdraw from Aceh and we'll see whether human rights atrocities remain or not. We can't say that the hands of the separatists are clean from blood." Meanwhile, the weekly Far Eastern Economic Review published an interview with self-exiled Aceh rebel leader Hasan di Tiro. Tiro said Indonesia's rule over his homeland is "absurd" and demands independence for Aceh. He also said the Indonesian government has no right to govern Aceh and dismissed Indonesia's new autonomy legislation as irrelevant. The notion of Indonesia is absurd, said Tiro, who declared Aceh's independence in 1976 but fled to Sweden three years later. He said he has around 5,000 members of separatist forces currently operating in the province to defend its independence. On Tuesday, Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar denied an Indonesian newspaper report accusing neighboring Malaysia of backing the Free Aceh Movement. He said Malaysia adhered to a policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries. The minister described as baseless a report in Indonesia's Suara Bangsa newspaper alleging Malaysia's involvement in the rebel movement. About 80,000 villagers have reportedly been forced to flee the fighting. In another development, the military said yesterday marines and naval ships have been stationed in Aceh province to guard its coastal lines and fight arms smuggling by sea. Indonesian National Defense Forces (TNI) Chief of Staff for General Affairs, Lieutenant General Sugiono, said the troops and vessels had been deployed in the province after several instances of arms smuggling had occurred in the area. "There are no gun factories in Aceh but we found illegal firearms made in foreign countries there. So we have assigned marines and a number of naval ships to guard Aceh's coast," Sugiono was quoted by Antara as saying. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 23 Jul 1999 jam 12:47:06 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
