Jakarta – Indonesian troops shot and killed five alleged separatist rebels – all but one of them unarmed – in the country's westernmost province of Aceh, a military spokesman said Wednesday.
The men were gunned down in separate incidents Monday and Tuesday, said Lt. Col. Asep Sapari. Soldiers seized one handgun and ammunition from the men, he said. He gave no more details.
Jakarta – A non-governmental organization (NGO) expressed its concern about the presence of 19 alleged militias in Aceh, which all fall under the supervision of the local military command.
In a statement signed by coordinator Bonar Tigor Naipospos, the Friends of Aceh said the militias could trigger conflict among civilians in the war-torn province.
Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh, still the subject of an ongoing corruption investigation, is now facing accusations of supporting the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM).
Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – A soldier from the Siliwangi Military Command posted in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam recently complained about his length of duty in the province.
"I have been posted in Aceh for nearly 13 months. There is still no sign of us returning home. I always long for my family," he said.
Banda Aceh – Indonesian troops shot dead three suspected separatists in the restive province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, while 11 other suspected rebels surrendered in six separate areas of the province, the military said on Saturday.
Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – At least 421 separatist rebels have been killed since Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam was placed under a state of civil emergency three months ago, an official has said.
Sr. Comr. Sayed Hoesainy of Aceh's civil emergency administration said on Tuesday that the rebels were killed during military operations since May 19.
Banda Aceh – An armed gang fired on a passenger bus late on Monday in Keude Jurong subdistrict, some 450 kilometers east of Banda Aceh municipality, leaving five passengers injured, three seriously.
If only the Indonesian Museum of Records would put on record the busiest man selling a government project to the public, Mahmun Yunan would make a good choice.
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The police denied on Friday charges leveled by a joint monitory team that they embezzled billions of rupiah from material procurement and construction projects in Aceh while the province was under martial law.
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The police denied on Friday charges leveled by a joint monitory team that they embezzled billions of rupiah from material procurement and construction projects in Aceh while the province was under martial law.
Nani Afrida and Yuli Tri Suwarni, Banda Aceh/Bandung – Seventy-four convicted Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatists arrived on Thursday afternoon in Bandung amid tight security.
Banda Aceh – An Indonesian soldier serving in war-torn Aceh province opened fire on other troops at an army barracks, killing four and wounding one, an army spokesman said Tuesday.
The soldier, whose name wasn't released, has been arrested and is undergoing psychological tests, said Lt. Col. Ahmad Yani Basuki.
Jakarta – Indonesia's 15-month military offensive against separatists in Aceh province has failed to crush the insurgency and left Indonesian forces in a quagmire from which they cannot escape, a senior rebel commander said Monday.
Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Defying public protest, 54 of the total 55 councillors of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam council accepted on Saturday the accountability report of the expenditure of Aceh's 2003 budget.
The acceptance paves the way for embattled Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh, who is a graft suspect, to continue as governor until 2005, when his term comes to an end.
Alue Gintong – A major military operation to crush a rebellion in Indonesia's Aceh province will be over within a year, President Megawati Sukarnoputri said Thursday, as the rebels vowed a fight to the death.
Banda Aceh – A prosecutor has recommended that the South Aceh District Court sentence environmentalist Bestari Raden, 45, to five years in prison for his alleged attempt to subvert national security and public order, a lawyer revealed on Friday.
John Tribbett, Kuala Lumpur – It's late at night and I'm sitting in a 24-hour restaurant drinking tea with a group of Acehnese refugees, all men in their early twenties.
Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – After more than one year of the military operations that started in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam in May 2003, President Megawati Soekarnoputri for the first time on Thursday visited soldiers and police in an isolated area of the war-torn province.
Alue Gintong – The military operation to crush the rebellion in the Aceh province will be over within a year, President Megawati Sukarnoputri said.
Megawati, who flew into Aceh under heavy security today, pledged an end to the fighting at a ceremony where she addressed troops who have been battling since May 2003 after the collapse of a truce.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – In an attempted show of force, rebels in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam and Papua launched attacks separately on Indonesian security personnel on Tuesday, leaving at least 10 civilians injured, six rebels dead and one soldier heavily wounded.
The Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) says it has killed 1,159 separatist rebels in Aceh province over the past 10 months as part of an ongoing operation to eliminate the outlawed Free Aceh Movement (GAM).
Banda Aceh – A series of explosions that left at least seven people injured, including a five-year-old boy, in the country's troubled province of Aceh rumbled Indonesia's anniversary of independence, police officials said Tuesday.
Anton Aliabbas, Jakarta – What's the relationship with the commemoration of the Indonesia's 59th anniversary and the state of civil emergency in Aceh? Who knows.
Jakarta – The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) is being urged to immediately investigate the arrest and torture of eight Acehnese Humanitarian Volunteers Association (Perhimpunan Relawan Kemanusiaan Aceh, Pemraka) activists and two civilians by police on August 7.
Jakarta – A number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) protested on Wednesday the arrest of two humanitarian workers by security personnel in Aceh last week, on the suspicion that the two were members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).
Banda Aceh – The average height of children first entering school in Aceh over the last six years has decreased by eight centimeters. In 1997 the average height of children first entering school was 119cm however by the end of 2003 the average was only 110cm.
The head of the Indonesian military command overseeing the restive province of Aceh has said that controversial air strikes have been effective in battling separatist guerrillas there.
Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Security personnel have again arrested aid workers in the violence-ravaged province of Aceh, following a high-profile arrest to an environmental activist earlier this year.
Banda Aceh – Indonesia's military said on Tuesday its warplanes attacked two suspected rebel bases in Aceh province, in the second use of air power against the separatists in a week.
There are claims that the Indonesian military and police have been extorting bribes from Acehnese asylum seekers and selling them into slavery. The claims have been backed by refugee advocates working closely with the UN refugee agency in Malaysia, where thousands of Acehnese are facing expulsion under a government crackdown on illegal workers.
Tiarma Siboro and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Puteh will still be free to resume his duties as Aceh governor and the province's civil emergency administrator, after the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has finished questioning him in a graft scam, a minister has said.
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – President Megawati Soekarnoputri officially stripped Abdullah Puteh of his powers as Aceh governor and administrator of the civil emergency on Wednesday.
However, Puteh's lawyers say the move means Puteh would be back at work in his job as early as this week.
State troops have killed more than 230 suspected separatist rebels in Aceh province since martial law was lifted two months ago, an official said Wednesday (21/7/04).
Police spokesman Senior Commissioner Anjaya said that from May 19 to July 19, troops killed 232 members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). That's an average of more than four killings a day.
Tim Johnston, Jakarta – Indonesia soldiers carry body of Said Adnan, who has been identified as a governor for Free Aceh Movement in North Aceh. File photo – Jan. 16, 2004
Reports from Indonesia's northern province of Aceh say that more than 200 people have been killed by the army and police in the past two months.
Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Indonesia accepts the Swedish prosecutors' decision to drop charges against Hasan Tiro, the exiled former chief of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM), Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said on Tuesday.
But Hassan urged Sweden to continue the legal action against the self-styled GAM leaders Zaini Abdullah and Malik Mahmood.
Jakarta – Indonesian troops have killed more than 230 alleged separatist guerrillas in Aceh province since martial law was lifted two months ago.
Some 232 alleged members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) – or almost four people a day on average – died in clashes between May 19 and July 19, said Police Senior Commissioner Anjaya.
Nani Afrida and Tiarma Siboro, Banda Aceh/Jakarta – Acehnese people will again have to face the bitter reality of the government's failure to consult and to take into account their aspirations every time it takes a major policy decision, even though the decision will greatly affect their lives.
Stockholm, Sweden – A Swedish prosecutor has dropped an investigation of the exiled leader of the Aceh rebel movement, saying the aging Hasan Tiro no longer controls the group, news reports said Sunday.
Tiro, 80, and two other exiled leaders of the Free Aceh Movement are accused by Indonesia of staging assassinations, bombings and kidnappings.
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – President Megawati Soekarnoputri is reportedly considering a replacement for Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh as pressure mounts on her to fire him due to graft charges against him.
Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Graft suspect Abdullah Puteh admitted on Thursday that no tender was held for the purchase of a Russian-made helicopter in 2001, but denied suggestions that he had violated any law in the deal.
Jakarta – Indonesian troops killed 15 suspected rebels in Indonesia's Aceh province, and guerrillas set fire to a passenger bus, an army spokesman said Wednesday.
Sam Zarifi, New York – Come Monday, most of Indonesia's 150 million registered voters will be able to cast (or not cast) their ballots in a relatively peaceful environment.
Indonesians should be proud that they have reached yet another major political and logistical milestone on their road to full democracy.
Jakarta – Acehnese rebels Thursday accused Indonesian police of torturing to death one of their district leaders, the latest allegation of rights abuses against security forces in the war-torn province.
Ahead of Indonesia's first direct presidential election on 5 July, BBC News Online has been hearing from a range of voters about their hopes and expectations.
Achmad Humam Hamid, a sociologist and human rights campaigner from Syiah Kuala University in Aceh province, said there was little difference between the main contenders.
Banda Aceh – Indonesia Tuesday expelled two Malaysians and a US citizen after they illegally entered the restive province of Aceh which remains under a state of civil emergency, an official said.
A room in the fifth floor apartment in Alby, Stockholm, Sweden, was already without its police guard. The occupant, President of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), Teuku Hasan Muhammad di Tiro, 79, under house arrest since last Tuesday, had been released for the time being.
Sian Powell – A rusting billboard greets visitors to Jantho, in the forested hills southeast of the provincial capital of Banda Aceh. "Let's make Jantho a tourist area," it says.
Jakarta – The governor of Indonesia's war-torn Aceh province claimed Sunday that security was improving in the region, state news agency Antara reported, despite recent clashes that have killed at least nine alleged rebels.
Sian Powell, Jakarta – Most Acehnese believe the blood-drenched province needs a ceasefire, or at least an end to hostilities, but Governor Abdullah Puteh said yesterday his prime requirements were tourism and foreign investment.
Given the attention that is currently being paid in both government and media circles to the Swedish court's decision to release two leaders of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) from custody, Indonesians are certainly right to ask how relevant events in Sweden are to the peaceful and lasting settlement of what is known here as the Aceh problem.