By Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh
The first confirmed cross-fire involving Indonesian Military (TNI) soldiers and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) guerrillas broke out on Sunday, putting a peace deal in the province to a serious test.
No injuries or casualties were reported during the brief gunfight, which occurred in hills near a village in Indrapuri district, Aceh Besar.
The incident come a few days before hundreds of GAM prisoners are set to return home after receiving an amnesty from prosecution.
Later on Sunday, a team comprising representatives from the military, the police and the Initial Monitoring Presence -- a precursor to the international Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM) which is to begin operating on Sept. 15 -- went to the site of the incident to investigate.
The team reportedly found a number of bullet shells and three huts up in the hill. It has yet to file a report on the matter.
Both sides immediately accused each other of violating the peace accord signed on Aug. 15 in Helsinki.
Iskandar Muda Military Commander overseeing Aceh Maj. Gen. Supiadin alleged GAM members had breached the peace agreement by carrying weapons in public and firing at government soldiers.
Supiadin said the incident happened when a group of 16 soldiers from the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) were ambushed by the guerrillas while patrolling near Muereu village at around 8:30 a.m.
A military source said the rebels started to open fire from their hideout on the hill.
"We had no option but to retaliate. It took about 10 minutes for our soldiers to regain control. The rebels stopped shooting at us and moved away," the commander of the military's strike force overseeing Aceh Besar, Lt. Col. Irlan Suryadi, said.
Meureu is located about 25 kilometers from the provincial capital of Banda Aceh and is known as a GAM stronghold.
GAM spokesman overseeing Aceh Besar, Tgk. Muchsalmina, confirmed the incident had occurred. However, he accused the TNI of ambushing the soldiers and violating an item in the peace deal that bans patrols beyond a radius of 750 meters from a military post.
Under the peace pact, guerrillas are banned from traveling outside their bases carrying weapons, while troops are to patrol no further than 750 meters from their posts.
"They (the soldiers) violated the clause. They ambushed us and we had no choice but to open fire at them," Muchsalmina said.
He called on the AMM to investigate the case fairly.
AMM chairman Pieter Feith urged TNI and GAM leaders to order their troops to comply with the peace agreement and said commanders from both sides must take the necessary measures to prevent their troops from attacking the other.
The Acehnese Civil Society Task Force (ACSTF) said both parties should also refrain from making statements that could hamper the peace process.
"The peace agreement between the Indonesian government and the GAM is still in its infancy and it requires all of our efforts to hold to it," said Imam Suja, a House of Representatives lawmaker.
"We should learn a lesson from the previous Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA) that collapsed within months after both parties committed violations in the field."
That peace agreement signed in December 2002 lasted only five months before the government imposed martial law in Aceh.
Under the Helsinki peace pact, GAM has agreed to surrender 840 firearms between Sept. 15 and the end of the year, while during the same period the military is required to pull out troops in proportion to the surrendered weapons.
Taken from The Jakarta Post
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