A'an Suryana, Lhokseumawe – At first she refused to be interviewed but then relented on the condition that she be quoted under a false name, Hanafiah. "I am afraid that I'll be killed after an interview," said the 50-year old women, a resident of Krueng Dhoe hamlet in Pidie regency.

Pidie is one of several regencies that were once controlled by Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatists before Indonesian troops regained much of the area. For Hanafiah it does not really matter who is in charge. She is one of many Acehnese who do not take sides in the war, they are afraid of both the Indonesian Military (TNI) and GAM.

Since the war began on May 19, soldiers often search Hanafiah's house for rebels. They come almost every day, sometimes at night or early in the morning. Their behavior is rough, she said. Her story is a common one here and elsewhere across the province.

In Nisam district in North Aceh regency just a few kilometers from where US energy giant ExxonMobil operates the Arun gas field, people complain about mistreatment by soldiers. Villagers there said they were often slapped in their face during security checks at one of the military posts in Nisam. Few now dare to pass the post.

But having GAM around is no relief either. Hanafiah said her son once took a ride in an ambulance owned by the local community health center. A few days later, a rebel visited her house asking why her son was inside an Indonesian government owned vehicle. "I feared that they might do something bad to my son," she said.

People here are accustomed to paying GAM rebels "Aceh Nanggroe Tax". Hanafiah's husband said that many rich Acehnese preferred to live outside Aceh. He said he had a relative who had became rich when he moved to the North Sumatra capital of Medan and now refused to return home. "He is afraid of being unfairly taxed by GAM, and if he refuses, he will be killed."

Opening up a business in Aceh means paying taxes twice. Plantation firm PT Bumi Flora in the Idi Rayeuk district in East Aceh had to pay the rebels Rp 19 million to Rp 36 million per week. When the company once refused in 1990, they killed 36 of its employees, said Lt. Col Echsan Sutardji who leads a hunt for rebels in the district.

ExxonMobil shut down its Arun gas field for eight months in 2001 after rebels allegedly attacked its facilities. The closure led to millions of US dollars in losses. And Indonesia had to utilize the Bontang gas field in East Kalimantan to replace Exxon's liquefied natural gas exports.

GAM uses the money to fund its struggle for independence However, few Acehnese would voluntarily invest in the cause. And not everyone asking for Aceh Nanggroe Tax are really independence fighters. Many are thugs who find it easier to extort money when they declare themselves GAM.

However, the TNI appear to be instilling greater fear among locals. While GAM consists of Acehnese, soldiers arrive in Aceh with a variety of ethnic and religious backgrounds. They are considered foreigners, invading their soil. Many soldiers are of Javanese extraction, who GAM refer to as colonialists.

The fear of the military was compounded during the decade-long offensive which ended in 1998. More than 10,000 people, mainly civilians, were killed.