ASSOCIATED PRESS, Tuesday January 18, 2005 1:35 AM
AP Interview: Aceh rebel commander say fighters won't hurt aid
workers in Indonesia
Rebels in Indonesia's tsunami-battered Aceh province will not attack foreign aid
workers, an insurgent commander said Monday, amid a warning of an imminent terror
attack in the region and a claim by Indonesia's military that the guerrillas may attack
relief workers.
"Our mothers, our wives, our children are victims from this tragedy," Tengku
Mucksalmina told The Associated Press in a hideout on the edge of a jungle about a
two-hour drive outside Banda Aceh, the provincial capital of Aceh.
"We would never ambush any convoy with aid for them. We want them (aid groups) to
stay. We ask them not to leave the Acehnese people who are suffering,"
Mucksalmina said, his voice rising with emotion after each sentence.
Last week, the Indonesian military insisted that troops provide escorts to foreign aid
workers outside Banda Aceh to defend against attacks from the Free Aceh
Movement, commonly known by the acronym GAM. The militants have been fighting
for three decades to gain independence for Aceh _ an area hard hit by the Dec. 26
earthquake and tsunami.
As Mucksalmina spoke to in a rare interview inside a wooden shack, about 15 fighters
_ some dressed in green camouflage fatigues, others in brown military T-shirts _
stood guard outside, armed with M-16 and Kalashnikov rifles.
Helicopters continuously buzzed overhead as some of the rebels snacked on sticky
rice wrapped in banana leaves. Ruck sacks full of food and ammunition were stashed
in the shed, located in the middle of grassy field at the foot of a hill surrounded by
palm-fringed rice fields.
The rebels communicated with a mobile phone powered with six thick batteries
commonly used in flashlights. The batteries were taped together and wired to the cell
phone. It buzzed several times as two insurgents sought permission to enter the
clearing to seek shelter from a heavy downpour.
"This is from a gun shot wound from a recent clash with Indonesian soldiers," said a
rebel who would identify himself only as Iskandar, pointing to a fresh scar. "The
military operations are going on."
The government has warned that the guerrillas might ambush aid convoys to steal
food, and the Danish Foreign Ministry on Monday issued a statement warning of an
"imminent terror attack on foreign relief workers" in Aceh. But Danish officials declined
to say what prompted the warning.
Later Monday, U.N. security officials declared a state of "heightened awareness" for
U.N. relief workers in Indonesia pending investigation of the Danish warning. The
United Nations also issued a 24-hour travel ban for its foreign staff on the
450-kilometer (280-mile) stretch of road between Banda Aceh and Medan because of
concerns about reported fighting.
Col. Nachrowi Djazairi, a military spokesman in Banda Aceh, said he had received no
reports of fighting on the road. But he said the rebels posed dangers to the relief effort.
"The rebels are the biggest threat to security in Aceh," Djazairi said. "They kidnap
Indonesian officials, extort the villagers and shoot at us. They are a menace to the
delivery of aid here."
Mucksalmina said his forces didn't need to raid aid convoys because before the
tsunami disaster, they had purchased a year's supply of rice, instant noodles and
other food. The rebels wanted to share their food with disaster survivors, he said.
"We were ready to come down from the mountain to give our supply food, to help
clear up the corpses, to help our people," Mucksalmina said. "But the military
operations continued throughout Dec. 26, 27, 28. On the fourth day, I lost two of my
men" in a gunbattle.
The military has also reported skirmishes and blamed them on the rebels foraging for
food in villages.
But Mucksalmina said that since Dec. 27, the rebels have been ordered to stay at
their bases and to shoot only in self defense.
The commander said the government's warnings were part of an ongoing campaign to
discourage foreigners from getting involved in Aceh, where critics of the military say
troops have committed human rights atrocities.
"The Indonesian military is afraid of foreigners. They are afraid of greater scrutiny of
what's going on in Aceh," added the commander, who said he was 31 years old and
joined the rebels when he was 13.
Foreigners, including aid workers and journalists, were banned from traveling to Aceh
province before the tsunami disaster.
Mucksalmina added that some of his men were desperate to come down from their
mountain hideouts and check on their families after the tsunami. But he said they
realized their quest for independence was more important.
"We are committed to living our life this way," he said. "We'd rather die as martyrs
because we want to live in freedom. We want to be free of the Indonesian colonialists.
We would gladly sacrifice our lives."
Copyright © 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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