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Military crackdown fears in aceh Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,11848350%255E1702,00.htmlhttp://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,11848350%255E1702,00.html
Military crackdown feared in Aceh
By Paul Osborne
04jan05
THE Acehnese community in Australia is worried the Indonesian military (TNI) could exploit tsunami chaos to crack down on independence activists.
The TNI has reportedly killed thousands of Achenese in recent years in a bid to stamp out the independence movement.
Acehnese Community of Australia liaison officer Nurdin Abdul Rahman, whose family escaped the Boxing Day disaster, said he had received reports of the TNI conducting anti-rebel operations in the north Aceh areas of Peureulak and Bireuen.
He said several people had been arrested, despite a ceasefire between rebels and the Indonesian government.
Media reports out of Aceh also said troops had killed three rebels and detained five others on Saturday, accusing them of attacking a relief convoy - a claim separatists have denied.
Military officials have confirmed some anti-rebel operations are continuing, but said most troops had been reassigned to relief work.
Nurdin said there were fears the build-up of Indonesian navy and other military personnel in Aceh in recent days could be used against rebels.
"In reality they have breached the ceasefire," he said. "It is window dressing for the international public."
He said he had been told the TNI had banned locals going to their vegetable gardens in the Aceh hinterland to gather food.
"People are desperately in need of food but the Indonesian military have the nerve to prevent or ban people to go to their farm for food - this is so inhumane.
"They (the military) say they want to keep people from contact with guerrillas (many of whom are based in the province's hinterland areas)."
Nurdin said he had also received a report, from two respected university professors, that military personnel in Lhokseumawe, in north Aceh, had sold instant noodle packs which had been donated by the government for free distribution to the needy.
He said many people in Aceh believed the Indonesian Government had been deliberately slow to respond to the crisis.
"The Acehnese people have been seen as the second or third citizen in the eye of the Indonesian Government," he said.
On a positive note, the disaster has allowed foreign relief workers and journalists into Aceh for the first time since martial law was declared in May 2003.
Nurdin said many of Aceh's four million citizens believed the tsunami disaster could help bring stability and freedom to the province.
"The people still hold out hope," he said.
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