The Jakarta Post, July 11 , 2002
Military denies al Qaeda presence in restive Aceh
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Indonesian Military (TNI) denied on Wednesday that al Qaeda, the terrorist
network led by Osama bin Laden, had a presence in war-torn Aceh.
A senior officer from TNI's Intelligence Board (Bais) told The Jakarta Post that Bais
had checked out Aceh after it received information from the Philippine intelligence
agency on the terrorist network's possible move to the province. However, there was
no indication as yet that the bin Laden-led terrorist organization had been present
there.
"We received the information a long time ago but after a check in the field, there was
no indication that al Qaeda had moved operations to Aceh," he said.
The senior military official made the statement in response to American-based CNN's
report on Wednesday that bin Laden had planned as far back as 2000 to move his
al-Qaeda terrorist cells to Aceh from Afghanistan.
Maj. Gen. M. Djali Jusuf, chief of the Iskandar Muda Military Command overseeing
Aceh, admitted that the situation in the province had been deteriorating because of
foreign interference in the conflict but said so far, al Qaeda was not involved in the
conflict.
He however, admitted that he received information that a senior aide of bin Laden
visited the province last year but the visit was not followed by the terrorist network's
presence in the province.
CNN said Ayamane al-Zawahri, bin Laden's senior aide, visited Aceh with al-Qaeda's
former military chief Mohammed Atef in June 2000.
The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has been fighting for an independent state in
Indonesia's westernmost province since 1976 and the Acehnese people have been
yearning for complete independence for centuries.
"Both of them (al-Qaeda leaders) were impressed by the lack of security, the support
and extent of the Muslim population," said CNN.
"This was part of a wide strategy of shifting the base of Osama bin Laden's terrorist
operations from the subcontinent to Southeast Asia," the report added.
Al-Qaeda, which is blamed for the Sept. 11 attacks in the U.S., had its bases in
Afghanistan destroyed when the U.S. began its war against terrorism last October.
More than 10,000 people have been killed since the 1970s in Aceh.
The government is considering imposing a state of emergency, or even martial law in
the province, which has huge oil and gas reserves and is situated at the entrance to
the Straits of Malacca, one of the world's busiest sea lanes.
In other developments, at least 13 people, including two young children, were killed in
separate clashes between the local military and suspected GAM members on
Tuesday and Wednesday.
Zaenal Muttaqin, a spokesman for TNI in Aceh, said the military shot dead seven
rebels when it launched a raid on GAM's stronghold in Seunebok Tuha Village in
Simpang Ulim Subdistrict, East Aceh, on Wednesday.
He said the raid was launched early on Wednesday after gaining information from a
rebel arrested by the local military.
He added that the soldiers also seized a number of guns and ammunition from the
rebels.
The seven were not identified but the military claimed that they were all members of
the separatist movement.
Ishak Daud, spokesman for GAM, denied the military's statement, saying three rebels
and several soldiers were killed in the clash.
"The GAM members killed were Rasyidin Abubakar, Nurdin Yassin and Azhari
Yusuf," he said, adding that the TNI soldiers also shot dead one woman and two
young girls identified as Radiah Ali, 45, Nurlena Achmad, 15, and Yusnidar, 13.
Lt. Col. Muh. Nakir, chief of the TNI's East Aceh Military Subdistrict, said one rebel,
three civilians and two children were killed in a separate assault on a GAM hideout in
Idi Rayeuk on Tuesday.
Dozens of other civilians were rushed to a nearby hospital with serious injuries, he
said.
Nakir said the assault was launched after receiving information that indicated the
whereabouts of the location of the hideout.
He claimed the civilians were killed by two grenades thrown by the rebels near during
the clash.
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