U.N. suspends relief travel in tsunami area
Rebel commander in Aceh denies any plan to attack
The Associated Press
Updated: 11:03 a.m. ET Jan. 17, 2005
ACEH BESAR, Indonesia - U.N. security officials on Monday suspended relief travel in parts of Indonesia's Aceh province and declared a state of "heightened awareness" pending investigation of a terror warning issued by Danish officials.
U.N. staff were banned from traveling between Banda Aceh and Medan because of reported fighting between Indonesian military and separatist rebels in the tsunami-battered area.
Mans Nyberg, a spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said the ban would be effective from Monday night until Tuesday morning between the two cities. It takes about 12 hours to drive the 280-mile stretch of road.
"This is strictly because of the fighting going on down there. There was reportedly a small battle between the army and GAM (rebels) somewhere along the road," Nyberg said.
The ban came as the U.N. security team in Banda Aceh today instructed all U.N. staff to "observe a heightened awareness and take all security precautions necessary" due to a Danish warning of a possible terrorist attack, said Christian Berthiaume, Geneva spokeswoman for the U.N. World Food Program.
Earlier Indonesia's military said it had no information of a specific threat to aid workers despite the Danish warning.
Rebel pledge
An insurgent commander said Monday that rebels in Aceh would not attack foreign relief workers.
?Our mothers, our wives, our children are victims from this tragedy,? Tengku Mucksalmina told The Associated Press in a hideout on the edge of a jungle about a two-hour drive outside Banda Aceh, the provincial capital of Aceh.
?We would never ambush any convoy with aid for them. We want them (relief workers) to stay. We ask them not to leave the Acehnese people who are suffering,? Mucksalmina said, his voice rising with emotion.
Last week, the Indonesian military insisted that troops provide escorts to foreign aid workers outside Banda Aceh to defend against attacks from the Free Aceh Movement, commonly known by the acronym GAM. The militants have been fighting for three decades to gain independence for Aceh ? an area hard hit by the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami.
As Mucksalmina spoke in a rare interview inside a wooden shack, about 15 fighters ? some dressed in green camouflage fatigues, others in brown military T-shirts ? stood guard outside, armed with M-16 and Kalashnikov rifles.
Helicopters continuously buzzed overhead. Some of the rebels ate sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves. Sacks full of food and ammunition were stashed in the shed.
Danish warning
The government has warned that the guerrillas might ambush aid convoys to steal food, and the Danish Foreign Ministry on Monday issued a statement warning of an ?imminent terror attack on foreign relief workers? in Aceh.
But Niels-Erik Andersen, of the Danish Foreign Ministry?s security section, declined to say what prompted the warning or what kind of threat was made against aid workers in the region.
Mucksalmina said his forces did not need to raid aid convoys because before the tsunami disaster, they had purchased a year?s supply of rice, instant noodles and other food. The rebels wanted to share their food with disaster survivors, he said.
?We were ready to come down from the mountain to give our supply food, to help clear up the corpses, to help our people,? Mucksalmina said. ?But the military operations continued throughout Dec. 26, 27, 28. On the fourth day, I lost two of my men? in a gunbattle.
The military has also reported skirmishes and blamed them on rebels foraging for food in villages.
But Mucksalmina said that since Dec. 27, the rebels have been ordered to stay at their bases and to shoot only in self-defense.
Army afraid of scrutiny?
The commander said the government?s warnings were part of an ongoing campaign to discourage foreigners from getting involved in Aceh, where critics of the military say troops have committed human rights atrocities.
?The Indonesian military is afraid of foreigners. They are afraid of greater scrutiny of what?s going on in Aceh,? added the commander, who said he was 31 and joined the rebels when he was 13.
Foreigners, including aid workers and journalists, were banned from traveling to Aceh province before the tsunami disaster.
Mucksalmina added that some of his men were desperate to come down from their mountain hideouts and check on their families after the tsunami. But he said they realized their quest for independence was more important.
?We are committed to living our life this way,? he said. ?We?d rather die as martyrs because we want to live in freedom. We want to be free of the Indonesian colonialists. We would gladly sacrifice our lives.?
© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6835016/
Do the rebels really need to clash with the Army at this point in time? I mean ppl are trying to get aid to them they should atleast stop for the time being.
Rebel commander in Aceh denies any plan to attack
The Associated Press
Updated: 11:03 a.m. ET Jan. 17, 2005
ACEH BESAR, Indonesia - U.N. security officials on Monday suspended relief travel in parts of Indonesia's Aceh province and declared a state of "heightened awareness" pending investigation of a terror warning issued by Danish officials.
U.N. staff were banned from traveling between Banda Aceh and Medan because of reported fighting between Indonesian military and separatist rebels in the tsunami-battered area.
Mans Nyberg, a spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said the ban would be effective from Monday night until Tuesday morning between the two cities. It takes about 12 hours to drive the 280-mile stretch of road.
"This is strictly because of the fighting going on down there. There was reportedly a small battle between the army and GAM (rebels) somewhere along the road," Nyberg said.
The ban came as the U.N. security team in Banda Aceh today instructed all U.N. staff to "observe a heightened awareness and take all security precautions necessary" due to a Danish warning of a possible terrorist attack, said Christian Berthiaume, Geneva spokeswoman for the U.N. World Food Program.
Earlier Indonesia's military said it had no information of a specific threat to aid workers despite the Danish warning.
Rebel pledge
An insurgent commander said Monday that rebels in Aceh would not attack foreign relief workers.
?Our mothers, our wives, our children are victims from this tragedy,? Tengku Mucksalmina told The Associated Press in a hideout on the edge of a jungle about a two-hour drive outside Banda Aceh, the provincial capital of Aceh.
?We would never ambush any convoy with aid for them. We want them (relief workers) to stay. We ask them not to leave the Acehnese people who are suffering,? Mucksalmina said, his voice rising with emotion.
Last week, the Indonesian military insisted that troops provide escorts to foreign aid workers outside Banda Aceh to defend against attacks from the Free Aceh Movement, commonly known by the acronym GAM. The militants have been fighting for three decades to gain independence for Aceh ? an area hard hit by the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami.
As Mucksalmina spoke in a rare interview inside a wooden shack, about 15 fighters ? some dressed in green camouflage fatigues, others in brown military T-shirts ? stood guard outside, armed with M-16 and Kalashnikov rifles.
Helicopters continuously buzzed overhead. Some of the rebels ate sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves. Sacks full of food and ammunition were stashed in the shed.
Danish warning
The government has warned that the guerrillas might ambush aid convoys to steal food, and the Danish Foreign Ministry on Monday issued a statement warning of an ?imminent terror attack on foreign relief workers? in Aceh.
But Niels-Erik Andersen, of the Danish Foreign Ministry?s security section, declined to say what prompted the warning or what kind of threat was made against aid workers in the region.
Mucksalmina said his forces did not need to raid aid convoys because before the tsunami disaster, they had purchased a year?s supply of rice, instant noodles and other food. The rebels wanted to share their food with disaster survivors, he said.
?We were ready to come down from the mountain to give our supply food, to help clear up the corpses, to help our people,? Mucksalmina said. ?But the military operations continued throughout Dec. 26, 27, 28. On the fourth day, I lost two of my men? in a gunbattle.
The military has also reported skirmishes and blamed them on rebels foraging for food in villages.
But Mucksalmina said that since Dec. 27, the rebels have been ordered to stay at their bases and to shoot only in self-defense.
Army afraid of scrutiny?
The commander said the government?s warnings were part of an ongoing campaign to discourage foreigners from getting involved in Aceh, where critics of the military say troops have committed human rights atrocities.
?The Indonesian military is afraid of foreigners. They are afraid of greater scrutiny of what?s going on in Aceh,? added the commander, who said he was 31 and joined the rebels when he was 13.
Foreigners, including aid workers and journalists, were banned from traveling to Aceh province before the tsunami disaster.
Mucksalmina added that some of his men were desperate to come down from their mountain hideouts and check on their families after the tsunami. But he said they realized their quest for independence was more important.
?We are committed to living our life this way,? he said. ?We?d rather die as martyrs because we want to live in freedom. We want to be free of the Indonesian colonialists. We would gladly sacrifice our lives.?
© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6835016/
Do the rebels really need to clash with the Army at this point in time? I mean ppl are trying to get aid to them they should atleast stop for the time being.
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