Word: gam
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...bombers, British-made jets, tanks, armored troop carriers, assault helicopters, warships-it was a slate-gray Japanese sedan that unnerved us journalists the most. The car bore a large sign reading "Press," yet it carried several uniformed men with guns. Who were they? Rebels of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM)? Not likely: the car was spotted several times in broad daylight in areas controlled by the Indonesian military (T.N.I.). More likely, we thought, the passengers were soldiers deliberately misusing press stickers to besmirch our independent and noncombatant status, and to draw us into the line of fire by making vehicles...
...elections. "If you listen to the talk shows on the radio (or) talk to people on buses and trains, either in Jakarta or even out in the provinces, the level of vitriol is really shocking," says Sidney Jones of the International Crisis Group in Jakarta. "People are saying that GAM shouldn't just be defeated but totally liquidated." Washington has applied heavy pressure behind the scenes to keep the two sides talking but has yet to condemn the atrocities in Aceh now that fighting has resumed, mindful perhaps of Indonesia's essential support in the war on terror...
...sees Aceh as a chance to regain its legitimacy and influence," says leading human-rights activist Munir. "Aceh is a way to demonstrate that they are the only force that can hold the country together. And it is a win-win situation for them: if they win and crush GAM, they are heroes. If they fail to solve the Aceh problem within six months or a year, they blame the politicians for not giving them the resources or time to finish...
...Aceh? RYAMIZARD: No region can be allowed to break away. That includes Aceh and Papua. Even if those making noises (about independence) number up to a million, this is a country of more than 220 million people. Our job is to safeguard unity. Our job is to destroy GAM's military capability. Issues of justice, religion, autonomy, social welfare, education?those are not the Indonesian military's problems...
...TIME: So you intend to wipe out GAM? RYAMIZARD: It will be impossible for us to get rid of them 100%. But I'm not saying just kill them. Many have surrendered, and they have not been killed. If they are armed, and resist and fire, they will be killed. Weapons have to be faced with weapons. Soldiers everywhere do the same thing. What people don't understand is that the more we leave them alone, the more victims there are, not the other way around. More people killed, more police killed, more soldiers killed. What country allows this...