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.
The military is to begin conscripting civilians next year, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said yesterday, citing rising tensions with Thailand as the reason for activating a long-dormant mandatory enlistment law. The Cambodian parliament in 2006 approved a law that would require all Cambodians aged 18 to 30 to serve in the military for 18 months, although it has never been enforced. Relations with Thailand have been tense since May, when a long-standing territorial dispute boiled over into cross-border clashes, killing one Cambodian soldier. “This episode of confrontation is a lesson for us and is an opportunity for us to review, assess and
The United States Federal Communications Commission said on Wednesday it plans to adopt rules to bar companies from connecting undersea submarine communication cables to the US that include Chinese technology or equipment. “We have seen submarine cable infrastructure threatened in recent years by foreign adversaries, like China,” FCC Chair Brendan Carr said in a statement. “We are therefore taking action here to guard our submarine cables against foreign adversary ownership, and access as well as cyber and physical threats.” The United States has for years expressed concerns about China’s role in handling network traffic and the potential for espionage. The U.S. has
IDENTITY: A sex extortion scandal involving Thai monks has deeply shaken public trust in the clergy, with 11 monks implicated in financial misconduct Reverence for the saffron-robed Buddhist monkhood is deeply woven into Thai society, but a sex extortion scandal has besmirched the clergy and left the devout questioning their faith. Thai police this week arrested a woman accused of bedding at least 11 monks in breach of their vows of celibacy, before blackmailing them with thousands of secretly taken photos of their trysts. The monks are said to have paid nearly US$12 million, funneled out of their monasteries, funded by donations from laypeople hoping to increase their merit and prospects for reincarnation. The scandal provoked outrage over hypocrisy in the monkhood, concern that their status
A disillusioned Japanese electorate feeling the economic pinch goes to the polls today, as a right-wing party promoting a “Japanese first” agenda gains popularity, with fears over foreigners becoming a major election issue. Birthed on YouTube during the COVID-19 pandemic, spreading conspiracy theories about vaccinations and a cabal of global elites, the Sanseito Party has widened its appeal ahead of today’s upper house vote — railing against immigration and dragging rhetoric that was once confined to Japan’s political fringes into the mainstream. Polls show the party might only secure 10 to 15 of the 125 seats up for grabs, but it is
RSS