http://www.smh.com.au/news/Asia-Tsunami/Militia-leader-denies-targeting-Aceh-rebels/2005/01/18/1105810916085.html?oneclick=true
Militia leader denies targeting Aceh rebels By Philip Cornford, Herald Correspondent, in Banda Aceh, Cynthia Banham and agencies January 19, 2005 The infamous former pro-Indonesian militia commander in East Timor, Eurico Guterres, yesterday denied he had visited Banda Aceh to organise a militia to fight against rebels from the Free Aceh Movement, known as GAM. The Daily Telegraph in London reported that associates of the former commander had confirmed that Guterres visited Aceh last week and that 900 members of his army-backed militia had assembled in Aceh province. But Guterres told the Herald from Jakarta that he was confined to the capital while he appeals against a 10-year jail sentence. "I have never been to Aceh," said Guterres, who was convicted of war crimes by an Indonesian court in 2002. "I would be happy to go to Aceh to help the rehabilitation effort, but not to fight," he said. "But that would require organisation which is beyond my resources." The British daily quoted Eddy Juliansyah, a native of Aceh who runs the militia's Aceh headquarters, as saying that it had 900 members ready to defend "Indonesian unity". Since the tsunami devastated the province, dozens of militia members have arrived from all over Indonesia, Mr Juliansyah said. He claimed they were in Aceh to provide assistance for the refugees and to help remove the thousands of bodies. But instead of reporting to a local military commander, they report to General Adam Damiri, a former military chief in East Timor, the Telegraph said. One man described being kidnapped at gunpoint by a squad of soldiers and marched into the jungle where he was told to identify rebels. A spokesman for the Indonesian military denied any knowledge of former East Timorese militia units in Aceh or of any visit by Guterres. "Many volunteers have come to Banda Aceh from all over Indonesia, but to help in the tsunami tragedy. We do not know of any militia units," Colonel Yani told the Herald. He would not confirm that General Damiri was in Banda Aceh. "Many retired generals have come here to help," he said. Indonesian police are interrogating two GAM suspects who were captured on Monday by an army patrol in a village 28 kilometres south-east of Banda Aceh. A self-imposed 24-hour ban on United Nations aid workers travelling from Banda Aceh to the Sumatran capital, Medan, was lifted yesterday. The head of UN relief operations in the province, Joel Boutroue, said the ban had been imposed because of fears of attacks on aid convoys travelling along the road. "The rumours were about possible attacks on relief workers. It was really nothing, and I repeat, nothing specific," Mr Boutroue said. Meanwhile, the UN and the Australian Government have not reacted to a Danish Foreign Ministry alert that said Danes should avoid Aceh for fear of an imminent terrorist attack. A spokesman for the Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, said the Government did not comment on "what other countries do", although he referred to a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade travel advisory that says Australians should not travel to Aceh unless they were working for a recognised aid organisation that had a security plan approved by Indonesian authorities in place. The spokesman refused to say whether Australian agencies had received any intelligence about a specific terrorist threat to aid workers in Aceh. "We'd never go into the specifics of intelligence," he said. a.. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Give the gift of life to a sick child. Support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital's 'Thanks & Giving.' http://us.click.yahoo.com/lGEjbB/6WnJAA/E2hLAA/BRUplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************************************************** Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny. www.ppi-india.uni.cc *************************************************************************** __________________________________________________________________________ Mohon Perhatian: 1. Harap tdk. memposting/reply yg menyinggung SARA (kecuali sbg otokritik) 2. Pesan yg akan direply harap dihapus, kecuali yg akan dikomentari. 3. Lihat arsip sebelumnya, www.ppi-india.da.ru; 4. Satu email perhari: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 5. No-email/web only: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 6. kembali menerima email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
