Dani Aswara, Jakarta – The Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) and the police dispersed a group of people flying the banned Free Aceh Movement (GAM) flag in Meunasah Mee Village, Muara Dua District, Lhokseumawe, on Thursday afternoon, December 25, 2025.
Colonel Infantry Teuku Mustafa Kamal, Head of Information for Iskandar Muda Military Command, stated that the group gathered around 10:10 a.m. They carried the forbidden flags mounted on wooden poles.
"Around 10:30 a.m., they raised the flag and waved it while shouting the word 'independence' as pedestrians passed by," Mustafa said in a written statement on Thursday, December 25, 2025.
Military Resort Commander 011/Lilawangsa, Colonel Infantry Ali Imran, coordinated with Lhokseumawe Police and arrived at the scene with local personnel. By 11:10 a.m., officers asked the crowd to stop and surrender the flags, but the group refused the request.
Mustafa Kamal reported that officers then moved to disperse the crowd and seize the banned flags. An altercation broke out during the process. During an inspection, security forces arrested one individual who was carrying a weapon.
"One of the individuals was found in possession of a Colt M1911 firearm along with five rounds of ammunition, a magazine, and a sharp weapon," he said.
The suspect was taken to the Korem 011/Lilawangsa Headquarters at 11:30 a.m. before being handed over to the police for legal action. The rest of the group left the area and returned to their homes by 12:10 p.m.
Mustafa stated that the flag is a symbol of the GAM separatist movement, which opposes national sovereignty. He noted that the prohibition is based on the Criminal Code regarding treason, Law Number 24 of 2009 regarding State Symbols, and Government Regulation Number 77 of 2007.
Roots of the protest
Munawar Liza Zainal, a GAM negotiator for the Helsinki Agreement, stated that the group remains committed to the 2005 peace deal. "Peace is born from long suffering and has been upheld for almost twenty years," said Munawar when contacted on Sunday, December 21, 2025.
However, he warned that the state has an obligation to protect the people of Aceh, similar to the empathy shown during the 2004 tsunami. He argued that the current handling of the 2025 Aceh floods shows a decline in the government's response.
According to Munawar, early statements from central officials that downplayed the disaster, along with aid delays, have caused widespread anger. "Aceh is not asking for conflict; Aceh is asking for justice and the presence of the state," he said.
He emphasized that the return of these symbols in public spaces is an expression of collective pain and memory rather than a direct threat to peace.
Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/2076220/tni-disperses-crowds-flying-gam-flags-in-acehs-lhokseumaw