Jakarta – The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has criticized the number of Indonesian Military (TNI) organic personnel, which exceeds the number of TNI personnel in other regions.

According to Munawar Lisa, Secretary-General of the Aceh Centre in the USA, external dangers in Aceh are just the same as in other areas "The number of TNI personnel in Aceh is more than 14,000 whereas in other countries it's only between 6,000 and 7,000," said Lisa.

According to her, the size of the Indonesian Army allocated to Aceh is not in line with the real situation as Aceh requires more naval and air strength. "The task of the military is to guard against external threats and geographically, the sea and air are more dominant," said Lisa.

She also said she hoped that in the implementation of the peace agreement, the police would have a larger role in securing and controlling security in Aceh.

In addition to organic troops, this GAM representative also asked for the disbandment of militia groups in Aceh. "We have recorded that there are more than 10,000 militia members under different names, such as Beurantas and Geurasa, in several areas including Takengon," said Lisa.

These militia, she continued, are trained to use weapons and have places where weapons are assembled. "We already have the names and the number of people involved," said Lisa.

GAM is worried that the existence of the militia could end up becoming a problem. "Especially when GAM members come out of the forests and hills and surrender their weapons to the Aceh Monitoring Mission," stated Lisa. (Yophiandi-Tempo News Room)