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. In his spotless apartment he is now free to reflect, to look out of the balcony, or just to telephone close friends without being under the suspicious gaze of a blonde police officer.

Elsewhere, GAM Prime Minister Malik Mahmud, 70, and Foreign Minister Zaini Abdullah had already left their underground 2x3-meter prison cells at the Stockholm Police Station. All three were released last Friday because, "The evidence

presented to the court was not strong enough," said Olof Larsberger, Head Clerk of the Court in Huddinge-a windy area not far from Alby.

Malik and Zaini had been taken from their homes by a small team led by the Head of the Stockholm Public Prosecutor's Office, Tomas Lindstrand.

"Six police climbed the stairs to the top floor of Zaini's house while 10 others waited below," said a GAM activist who knew of the arrest. Zaini was taken to the police station in handcuffs. Tiro himself was not arrested because he is unwell, but his home was thoroughly searched by police looking for evidence.

"Most of what we confiscated was in the form of bundles of documents written in Acehnese," Lindstrand revealed, as quoted by Sweden's largest daily, Dagens Nyheter. He said the three were suspected of serious violations of international law and were to be charged under Chapter 22, Article 6 of the Swedish Criminal Code.

GAM spokesman in Stockholm, Bakhtiar Abdullah, said the evidence seized included a notebook computer owned by Tiro, US$10,000 in cash, a number of documents such as those on Aceh's legal battle in the international world, the book Kelahiran Aceh (The Birth of Aceh), the book Perkara dan Alasan Aceh (The Case and Grounds for Aceh), a disk of recordings of GAM's military training in Aceh, photos of its activities in Sweden, and newspaper clippings discussing the conflict in Aceh, the so-called Verandah of Mecca.

Remembering the time limits for detention for suspects in a terrorism case under Sweden's law is 72 hours, Lindstrand asked for a two-week extension of their detention. None of the questions put by the team of investigators headed by Gunnar Akersten had been answered by the three GAM high officials. In the hearing, Tiro, Malik, and Zaini were each accompanied by their lawyers, Leif Gustafsom, Leif Silbersky, and Peter Alphin.

Lindstrand's application finally ran aground on Friday when Judge Lars Tomt, heading the session, declared that Tiro, Malik, and Zaini must be released under the law. However, "The judge's decision did not mean he also overturned the status of these three as suspects," said Olof Larsberger.

The action taken by the Stockholm Public Prosecutor's Office derived from the decree signed by Lindstrand on 16 February. Its contents: the public prosecutor's office would carry out an initial investigation into the suspicion of the involvement of Tiro and his associates in the bombings of the Senen Atrium, Jakarta Stock Exchange, and the Cijantung Mall. Tiro was also accused of being responsible for the murder of Teungku Nazaruddin Daud and Professor Dayan Daud, the kidnapping of 243 civilians, along with the burning of at least six schools in Aceh.

To further its investigation, the team from the Prosecutor's Office and Swedish police came to Indonesia on March 15-21, interviewing 19 witnesses in Jakarta, Medan, and Aceh. They also saw at first hand the area of conflict in this "Land of Jeumpa" (Aceh).

Two months on, on May 25, it was the turn of the Indonesian government to dispatch to the Stockholm Prosecutors its additional evidence in the form of a

notebook computer seized from former GAM negotiator, Syaiful Amri bin Abdul Wahab.

Apparently all these led Lindstrand's team to hurriedly wanting to bring Tiro and his associates into court for prosecution. But, after getting the pile of documents in Acehnese, Lindstrand had difficulty in finding a skilled translator. Indonesian Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar later promised he would send a translator there.

Director I for Security and International Affairs of National Police Headquarters, Brig. Gen. Ariyanto Sutadi, said his section, working with the Department of Foreign Affairs, would dispatch a translator to Sweden.

"We will assist with a translator there as soon as possible," Ariyanto told Martha Warta from TEMPO News Room. The problem was that the three middle-ranked officers sent to Sweden, although able to speak English well, did not understand Acehnese.

Apart from that technical problem, for Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda, the beginning of the process of interrogation of Tiro, Malik, and Zaini shows that GAM's foreign base for its struggle is now paralyzed. "With the process initiated by the Stockholm Public Prosecutor's Office, there really can be no more GAM activities abroad," declared Hassan.

He is convinced that the GAM leadership coming after Tiro, Malik, and Zaini will not want to continue and GAM's current power center in Stockholm will not relocate to another country. "There is no place safe left for them to continue their activities," he said.

Although taken aback by the report of the arrests, GAM Commander for the Peurelak Area, Ishak Daud, remained optimistic about the movement's future. "God Willing, that means the door to independence has been opened," he said.

In Ishak's view, this happening provides the opportunity for GAM's case to end up in the International Court of Justice or the United Nations. "The Swedish government has the right to process this, but is not entitled to pass judgment," he said. Even though Tiro and Zaini both have Swedish citizenship, "they are still Acehnese," Ishak stressed. Malik Mahmud, however, is a Singaporean citizen.

In the ICJ, he said, GAM plans to disclose all the crimes committed by the Indonesian government to date. His hope is that the UN and ICJ will then urge Indonesia to let Aceh go. Hassan Wirajuda discounted Ishak's conviction.

"This case will not enter the international arena. It is an internal matter for Sweden," said Hassan. To date, there have been no signals that GAM will replace its leaders. "There is no plan to do that," said Bakhtiar Abdullah. GAM will only continue to monitor further the developments in the ongoing legal process.

It is certainly no easy matter for GAM to replace its top leadership. Hasan Tiro is convinced he is the continuation of the lineage of Tiro, a king in the Iskandar Muda sultanate which centuries ago controlled Aceh, Sumatra, and the Malayan peninsula. His son, Karim Tiro, finds it difficult to become the crown prince considering that he does not know Aceh and is busy with his life as a lecturer at a US university. His American mother has divorced Tiro.

Hasan's successor is said to likely be Malik Mahmud. To date, he has indeed been Tiro's right-hand man who handles coordination of the movement.

But he is a Singaporean citizen and is considered not be familiar with the situation on the ground (see infographic).

In Aceh, at least in the words of Ishak Daud, the movement of its forces has not been affected by news of the arrest of Tiro and his associates. "They take care of politics, we take care of fighting," said Ishak at one time.

Moreover, the Free Aceh Movement Force (AGAM) organization, too, cannot be fully controlled by Sweden. In the case of the kidnapping of RCTI cameraman Ferry Santoro perpetrated by Ishak's men, Sweden was shown just to have been given a report and did not give Ishak any orders about it. As TEMPO reporter Nezar Patria reported, after joining in negotiations for Ferry's release last month, Ishak generally only called Stockholm to report on the developments in the case. Malik and his associates only offered brief advice, "Be careful, this involves our international image."

The ones sure to be worried now are those who have fled Aceh to live in Stockholm. To date, after emigrating from one country to another in the 1980s, they consider Sweden a heaven that guarantees their rights as political refugees..

There they are free to work-some as post office employees and doctors. Those not yet working get social welfare allowances. In Stockholm, these runaway Acehnese families generally live in the Norsborg and Alby districts-to the South of Stockholm, both full of Asian immigrants. In the prosperous areas abroad, Acehnese runaways can be found in Norway, Denmark, America, and Malaysia.

They will certainly not be extradited because, as stated by the interim Coordinating Minister for Political & Security Affairs, Hari Sabarno, there is no extradition treaty between Indonesia and Sweden. "They are also not Indonesian citizens," said Hari.

So, for the time being, the impact of the pursuit of the case of Tiro and his associates has been the weakening of GAM's political organs. Plus the disturbance of the GAM village spread though Alby and Norsborg-cold districts that for years and years have offered refuge, sheltering Hasan Tiro and his group.

[AZ/Akmal Nasery Basral, Faisal A. (Tempo News Room).]

The long road to get Tiro

2002

November 11 – A cabinet meeting decides to ask Sweden to apply sanctions to the three GAM leaders living in Stockholm. The three are Hasan di Tiro, Zaini Abdullah, and Malik Mahmud. They are considered to be interfering in Indonesia's sovereignty.

2003

May 6 - Sweden's Ambassador for Indonesia, Harald Nils E. Sandberg, states that Indonesia's request is being discussed by Sweden's government.

May 26 - National Police Headquarters asks for Interpol's help in arresting Tiro and his associates in Sweden as they are suspected of involvement in crimes of terrorism and separatism.

May 30 - Sweden refuses to apply sanctions to Tiro and associates because of lack of evidence.

June 1 - The DPR asks the government to break off diplomatic ties with Sweden if they refuse to question Tiro and his associates.

June 2 - Sweden closes its embassy in Jakarta.

June 4 - The Swedish embassy is reopened.

June 9 - Indonesia's special representative, Ali Alatas, meets with the Swedish Foreign Minister and Minister of Justice in Stockholm. Alatas hands over evidence of Tiro's involvement in Aceh.

June 11 - Sweden declares its support for the integrity of Indonesia, but still asks for additional proof of Tiro's involvement.

July 23 - Sweden acknowledges that Tiro and associates are controlling a rebellion in Indonesia, but still asks for time to decide on the need or lack of it for an investigation.

December 18 - A combined team of Indonesian Police and from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs meets the Swedish Public Prosecutor's Office to hand over their file of the case that shows Tiro's involvement in Aceh.

2004

February 16 - The Head Swedish Public Prosecutor decides to investigate Tiro and associates' involvement in terrorism and separatism in Aceh.

March 15-21 - The Swedish Public Prosecutor's team comes to Indonesia to question 19 leading GAM figures detained in Jakarta, Aceh, and Medan. These witnesses claim that they were never ordered by Hasan Tiro to plant bombs or burn down schools.

June 15 - Zaini Abdullah and Malik Mahmud are arrested and held by Stockholm Police.

Tiro is not detained because he is ill. They are to be questioned as suspects in a case of terrorism and serious violations of international law.

June 18 - Huddinge District Court, Stockholm, frees Tiro and associates on the grounds of lack of evidence.

Those arrested

Malik Mahmud al-Haytar - GAM Prime Minister and said to be the candidate successor to Tiro. Born and raised in Singapore. His father, Mahmud al-Haytar, was the right hand man of Daud Beureueh, a well known personage in the Darul Islam Aceh movement.

When still young, Mahmud fled, becoming a successful businessman in the neighboring country. Reportedly, Malik now has Singaporean nationality and was once an officer in its marines. Since the end of the 1990s, he has followed in Tiro's footsteps to reside in Sweden. In Tiro's cabinet, he is considered expert in arranging tactics and a peerless negotiator. He was GAM's negotiator at the meetings with Indonesia in Tokyo, May 2003.

Zaini Abdullah - Minister, doubling as Minister of Health in GAM's Cabinet. He has played a big role in several discussions with Jakarta. Zaini and Tiro were the first group of Acehnese to flee to Sweden. He is considered a very skilled negotiator and plays a role in contacts with Aceh, particularly in controlling GAM's fighters there. Zaini works as a doctor in a clinic in Flemingsberg, in South Stockholm.

Hasan di Tiro - Guardian of Nanggroe, alias President of Free Aceh. He is the man who proclaimed the Free Aceh Nation, on December 4, 1976. From 1976-1979 he conducted a guerrilla war with his forces against Indonesia. In 1979, he fled to the US and then several European countries, finally settling in Stockholm, Sweden. Tiro, now 80, is the great grandson of Teungku Syekh Muhammad Saman di Tiro, one of Aceh's greatest men.

The evidence

• A notebook owned by Hasan Tiro
• US$10,000 in cash
• Documents on Aceh's legal battle in the international world
• The book Kelahiran (Birth of) Aceh
• The book Perkara dan Alasan Aceh Merdeka (The Case and Grounds for Aceh's Independence)
• A CD disk with recordings of GAM's military training in Aceh
• Photos of GAM's activities in Sweden
• Newspaper clippings discussing Aceh
• Files on the questioning of witnesses in Indonesia
• Diary of Hasan Tiro's daily orders for consolidation of GAM
• Photocopy of Hasan Tiro's message to the people of Aceh to free themselves from the Republic of Indonesia
• Photocopy of GAM commands to collect "taxes"
• Document on the establishment of Free Aceh

[Widiarsi Agustina.]