Exiled ex-rebel returns to Aceh

“There are people who were very loyal to him who would die for him.” — Bakhtiar Abdullah, a former Aceh separatist negotiator

The founder of Aceh’s separatist rebel movement made an emotional homecoming yesterday after nearly 30 years in exile and a war that killed thousands of people.

Free Aceh Movement (GAM) founder Hassan di Tiro was greeted by thousands of cheering supporters and former guerrillas as he flew into the capital of the war-torn and tsunami-scarred Indonesian province.

“People have come from all over Aceh. They are happy to be here just to see [di Tiro] for that split minute. His heart has always been in Aceh,” said Bakhtiar Abdullah, a former GAM negotiator who was jailed by the Indonesians.

“There are people who were very loyal to him who would die for him and they have never seen him before. They are still loyal to him and they would do anything for him,” Abdullah said.

A frail-looking and teary di Tiro embraced his elderly sister and was helped down the steps of the plane by aides before being presented with garlands by Acehnese in traditional dress.

Di Tiro, 83, kissed the ground after being helped to kneel on an Islamic prayer mat on the tarmac.

It is the first time the former rebel leader has set foot on home soil since he fled to Sweden in 1979.

Di Tiro’s declaration of independence from Indonesia in 1976 sparked a three-decade civil war that claimed 15,000 lives and left deeply Islamic Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra island, in ruins.

But it was the terrible devastation of the Asian tsunami, which killed about 170,000 people in the province, that prompted him and other GAM leaders to agree to an 2005 autonomy pact with Indonesia.

That deal was brokered in part by former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari, who won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his efforts to bring peace to Aceh and other conflict zones.

“For 30 years I haven’t seen him. I want to talk to him about how to build a better Aceh because we have suffered so much after 30 years of conflict,” said Aburrahman, a cousin of di Tiro.

Police said 100,000 people were expected to hear an address by di Tiro in Banda Aceh’s Grand Mosque, which survived and bears the scars of the 2004 tsunami.

Authorities stepped up security amid concerns that his return could ignite violence — either between Aceh’s fractious political parties or against the Indonesian military — as tensions brew ahead of provincial elections in April.

But GAM security chief Sofyan Dawood, who has coordinated security with Indonesian police and military, said there was no risk of violence or unrest during di Tiro’s visit.

Di Tiro told Indonesian television earlier this week that he supported the peace agreement and just wanted to see his homeland.

Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who helped broker the 2005 peace deal, was due to meet di Tiro upon his return but he canceled his trip at the last minute, saying he had to stay in Jakarta because of the global credit crisis.

A spokesman for the Indonesian foreign ministry on Friday characterized the homecoming as a “social visit” and said Jakarta had gone the “extra mile to assist.”

But he also revealed Jakarta’s sensitivity over di Tiro’s visit, saying no one should confuse Aceh with Papua Province, where activists still face life in jail for waving the Papuan separatist flag.

“We would not want to compare Aceh and Papua ... We have closed the chapter of the separatist movement [in Aceh] and we no longer talk about it as an issue,” the spokesman, Teuku Faizasyah, said.

Pickup trucks packed with farmers and former guerrillas began pouring into Banda Aceh on Thursday bearing flags of the Aceh Party, the disbanded GAM’s new political vehicle, which is expected to dominate parliament after the polls.

Officials from other parties said they hoped di Tiro would use his two-week stay to strengthen the peace process, which is being tested by political intimidation, dissatisfaction among former combatants and dwindling aid.