The Indonesian military's (TNI) assault on armed elements of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) is bringing splits in the rebel movement to the fore, with one moderate leader accusing another leader of being a TNI agent.
GAM celebrated the anniversary of its foundation Wednesday quietly, with reports from the region that a call for Acehnese to stop their activities was widely observed.
Meanwhile the moderate GAM leader, who requested anonymity, told Laksamana.Net that GAM spokesman Sofyan Dawod, regarded as a hardliner, was an Indonesian military plant inside the organization.
"He adopts a hard line so that the military will have an excuse to attack our people," the leader said. "I admit I am a moderate. Why should we act in ways that will only bring suffering on our own people."
GAM has long been known to be riddled with factionalism. There are three main factions: that led by Hasan Tiro from Sweden, another group based in Austria, and a third in Malaysia. There are also a number of groups which are little more than brigands who use GAM's name as a cover for criminal activities.
Hopes are still high for a resolution to the conflict, which dates back to 1976 and has killed over 1,200 people this year alone, when negotiators meet again in Switzerland on December 9.
"I'm 97% sure the peace plan will be accepted, although there are issues that still need to be ironed out," said a Western diplomat involved in the negotiations, the Associated Press reported.
Defense minister Matori Abdul Jalil said last week the Army would launch a major offensive to crush GAM if the separatists backed out.
Troops were maintaining a 34-day siege of a suspected rebel hideout in a marshy area of North Aceh district.
Many GAM elements held ceremonies to mark the anniversary of the movement a day earlier than the actual anniversary, and rebel leaders, including Dawod, called for restraint.
He said GAM should not attempt to raise the rebel flag in civilian areas in order to reduce the risk of military action, and GAM checkpoints should be pulled off major roads to allow the population to celebrate the coming Idul Fitri.
Despite Dawod's instruction, at least one flag-raising occurred on the actual anniversary, according to Reuters, which added that some elements were continuing to state they would not participate in any peace process.
"If Aceh wants to be prosperous, the Acehnese people must be independent from Indonesian colonisation," GAM regional commander Darwis Jeunieb told his camouflage-clad troops in a field near the town of Bireun, the Reuters report stated. The agency also quoted Hasan Tiro as stating in Sweden that GAM would not accept a peace deal.
Meanwhile international aid donors were meeting in Tokyo to discuss aid for the province in a move to offer incentives for a peace deal.