Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Nurdin Hasan – The Indonesian Armed Forces on Tuesday strongly denied allegations by a foreign journalist that it was behind the killings of nine Aceh Party members in 2009 and said that it was considering filing a legal complaint.

"We would like the public to ignore any rumors being spread by certain people who want to divide our country by saying negative things about our military institutions," said Air Vice Marshal Sagom Tamboen, a spokesman for the Armed Forces (TNI).

Sagom was commenting on accusations made by Allan Nairn, an American freelance journalist, who wrote on his personal blog that the deaths of nine Aceh Party activists ahead of legislative elections in the province were part of a covert military program authorized by the government to prevent the party from seeking independence for Aceh.

Sagom said the military was considering filing a legal complaint against Nairn. "If he is a good journalist and if he does have evidence, then he should come forward with the information that he has," the TNI spokesman said.

The military, Sagom added, had never launched an investigation into the deaths of the Aceh Party members because it never received any formal complaints.

"If we had received complaints, it would have been the military's duty to conduct an investigation," he said. "But the problem is that [Nairn] hasn't been able to give us any clear evidence or tell us who his sources are. So how can we believe him?"

Sagom said the military denied in the strongest terms any involvement in the killings. "I don't know how killing our own brothers could benefit us," he said.

Sagom added that Aceh had supported President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, as proven by the ruling Democratic Party's overwhelming victory in last year's elections. "The result shows that we have the support of our brothers in Aceh," Sagom said.

Teuku Adriansyah, a representative of the Katahati Institute, a nongovernmental organization based in Aceh's capital, Banda Aceh, also dismissed Nairn's claims, which he called "weak and inaccurate."

During last year's elections, police in the province investigated several attacks on offices belonging to the Aceh Party, which was founded by former members of the now disbanded Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Police also made several arrests involving political groups headed by former GAM members over election violations. "I found that the violations they were supposed to have committed were caused mainly by competition among local parties," Teuku said.