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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 JAKARTA 006497 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AIDAC 
 
DEPARTMENT PASS USTR KATZ 
DEPARTMENT FOR R, EAP/MTS, EB/IFD/ODF, DS/IP/EAP, DS/DSS, 
DSERCC, INR/EAP and INL 
DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS AID 
Treasury for IA -- Anna Jewell 
USDA FOR FAS/EC/MCHAMBLISS 
Singapore for DEA 
NSC for Holly Morrow and Jed Meline 
USAID FOR ANE/EAA 
From American Consulate Medan # 23, 2006 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR PREL ASEC SNAR SOCI ID
SUBJECT: Aceh: GAM Reintegration Advances Despite Obstacles 
 
 
JAKARTA 00006497  001.2 OF 009 
 
 
Reftels:  (A) 05 Jakarta 016687 
          (B) 05 Jakarta 010056 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  Successful reintegration of Free Aceh 
Movement (GAM) ex-combatants and others, essential to 
ensuring long term peace in Aceh, has advanced but still 
faces obstacles.  Reintegration payments promised by GOI 
have arrived only slowly.  Aceh's economy remains flat or 
worse, with a high unemployment rate making it difficult for 
ex-combatants to pursue livelihoods.  In some areas, armed 
violence has increased.  TNI and GAM agree on the need for 
more police to guarantee public safety.  GAM objects to anti- 
GAM militia members and returning IDPs receiving payments 
from the same fund as their ex-combatants.  Militia members 
remain scared they will face GAM retribution if they return 
to their homes.   We discussed reintegration with various 
Acehnese figures during a recent visit to Lhokseumawe, 
Bireuen, Sigli and Banda Aceh.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) A key requirement for long term peace in Aceh 
remains reintegration of Free Aceh Movement (GAM) ex- 
combatants and others into civil society.  Despite 
considerable progress, reintegration still faces obstacles. 
 
Social Affairs Chief: About Half The Ex-Combatants Paid 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Hanif Asmara, the Head of Aceh's provincial Social 
Affairs Office, explained that the Aceh Reintegration Agency 
(BRA, for "Badan Reintegrasi Aceh") oversees the 
reintegration process.  BRA's 80 members include 
representatives from GOI, GAM, academic and religious 
figures and various NGOs.  The GOI pays Rp. 25 million 
(about USD 2,700) for each ex-combatant.  To receive 
payment, ex-combatants usually form small groups of 10-50 
each which submit funding proposals to BRA, although we 
understand individuals can submit proposals.  A typical 
proposal might involve setting up a fish farm or buying 
boats, he said.  Once approved, the Ministry of Social 
Affairs in Jakarta provides the funds through the Post 
Office, coordinating with Asmara's office. 
 
¶4. (SBU) GAM formed the Commission for Change in Aceh (KPA, 
for "Komisi Peralihan Aceh") to provide advice and proposals 
on how to reabsorb the 3,000 GAM ex-combatants mentioned in 
the Helsinki peace MOU.   KPA screens the names of ex- 
combatants and the bona fides of ex-combatant groups making 
proposals.  Proposals from GAM members must have a KPA 
recommendation for approval after which Social Affairs 
follows a KPA-recommended procedure.  It provides 50 percent 
 
JAKARTA 00006497  002.2 OF 009 
 
 
of the request as a down payment, then monitors progress; if 
the venture does not fail, it pays out the remaining 50 
percent.  If the venture fails, it imposes no sanction; KPA 
discusses the matter with the group in question.  GOI 
usually avoids direct contact with these ex-combatant 
groups, said Asmara. (A BRA spokesperson told us separately 
that the first 300 proposals, submitted just as the body 
formed, were rejected.  All 29 subsequently submitted were 
accepted; of those, one has requested payment of the second 
50 percent.) 
 
¶5. (SBU) Asmara told us the Ministry of Social Affairs has 
approved payment to 2,000 of the GAM ex-combatants.  Of 
these, 985 have received it; Social Affairs awaits proposals 
from the rest.  He added Jakarta has approved payment for 
some of the other 1,000. 
 
TNI East Aceh District Commander: Violence On The Upswing 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶6. (SBU) We heard a commonly-expressed fear that some GAM ex- 
combatants will find the old days of living off extortion at 
gunpoint preferable to a quiet life as farmer or fisher; 
armed gangs ravaging the countryside would challenge law 
enforcement efforts and even threaten the peace process 
itself if not brought under control.  The TNI's Commander 
for Aceh's eastern region, Colonel Chairawan K. Nusyirwan, 
told us violent crime seems on the rise in the regencies of 
East Aceh, North Aceh, Bireuen and Pidie, longtime GAM 
strongholds.  He attributes two recent incidents to GAM 
members, although GAM has denied any role.  In one, six men 
wielding AK-56s and pistols attempted to rob the regional 
health office in the southeast Aceh city of Langsa.  They 
apparently knew that a load of cash had arrived earlier in 
the day.  Police recovered two AKs and two pistols. 
 
¶7. (SBU) In the second incident, four armed hoodlums on 
motorbikes followed the car of a man who had just withdrawn 
Rp. 55 million, or about USD 6,000, from a BRI branch in 
Pidie Regency, robbing him when he stopped for coffee at a 
roadside stall.  In this case, police seized one AK-47 and 
two pistols, all in good working condition and not primitive 
"home made" rifles.  He said only GAM possesses arms of that 
make and quality.  Chairawan sees GAM ex-combatants as 
responsible for much of the rise in violence; "they just 
don't want to give up their arms," he opined.  (Note: GAM 
surrendered all 840 of the arms called for in the MOU 
(reftel A); they say they have no other arms, but police, 
military, politicians and AMM members to whom we spoke all 
believe they have retained a few.  End note.) 
 
JAKARTA 00006497  003.2 OF 009 
 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) Chairawan said GAM-related thugs continue to extort 
workers and businesses in the countryside.  He said his men 
recently caught thugs extorting plantation workers 
transporting crude rubber at a rate of Rp. 1,250 (about one 
U.S. dollar) per kilo.  He said simply not enough police 
maintain order in the countryside; they need three times the 
manpower they now have.  Chairawan said thugs easily 
intimidate the police; they need TNI back up but TNI cannot 
make arrests. 
 
North Aceh AMM Chief: Unemployment The Greatest Obstacle 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) AMM Lhokseumawe and North Aceh Team Leader Jorma 
Gardemeister told us the greatest obstacle to reintegration 
remains unemployment.  He saw the GOI's recent reopening of 
the nearby Iskandar Muda Fertilizer (PIM) plant as a helpful 
step.  He said GAM had established KPA offices in the area 
to offer training and guidelines for ex-combatants re- 
entering civil society, though the offices likely will form 
part of the GAM's planned political party. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Gardemeister said GAM members in the area 
increasingly establish themselves as small traders, often 
taking advantage of the poor farmers they once extorted with 
arms.  Farmers who sell their products to GAM traders lose 
money, he said; the traders pay Rp. 2,600 (about USD 0.28) 
for a kilo of crude rubber which would formerly have sold 
for Rp. 4,000 (about USD 0.43.)  He said GAM gets 10 percent 
from what these affiliated traders make.  Sometimes, GAM 
members just stop trucks and extort money directly, he 
added; at times police have caught them in the act. 
Gardemeister believes GAM secretly retains a certain number 
of weapons.  GAM, he added, still collects "taxes" ("pajak 
nanggroe") from local officials, although less often than 
before. 
 
North Aceh Militias Change Name, Stay The Same 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶11. (SBU) Before the MOU, GAM viewed existence of supposedly 
unarmed anti-GAM civilian militias as a provocation.  They 
regularly murdered militia members (ref B.)  Acting Governor 
Mustafa Abu Bakar appointed Sofyan Ali, the head of the 
major anti-GAM militia umbrella group Anti-GAM Front to the 
BRA in an April 14 decree to encourage reintegration of 
militia members into society;  militia members will receive 
Rp 10 million (about USD 1,100) apiece from Social Affairs 
following a process similar to that used for GAM ex- 
 
JAKARTA 00006497  004.2 OF 009 
 
 
combatants.  GAM protested the move; they see one-time GAM 
official Ali as a turncoat. 
 
¶12. (SBU) We asked Gardemeister whether anti-GAM militia 
members returned to their homes.  He said that the old local 
militia group "Acehnese People Against Separatism" 
(BERANTAS) has reformed with a new name, "Fortress of the 
Acehnese People" (BEURATA.)  The new organization operates 
in the same locations with the same personnel as the old 
one.  (Note: The organization rejects the term "militia," 
and like other such groups denies having weapons, although 
we have heard reports of members carrying arms in the 
villages.  End note.)  He said local members number about 
75, and have mostly "stayed in their holes" out of fear of 
GAM retribution.  "They live in exile," he said, with the 
problem most acute in the North Aceh community of Nisam, 
long one of the most violence-prone hot spots in Aceh. 
 
¶13. (SBU) Gardemeister said BEURATA ought to have a 
representative on the BRA since BRA seeks reintegration of 
all parties.  He said GAM rejects this reasoning pointing 
out that the MOU did not mention BEURATA.   Gardemeister 
said BEURATA plans to re-establish a field office, and has 
asked the Regent of North Aceh for representation in each 
subdistrict.  Gardemeister could not say whether TNI had 
created the two groups, but noted BERANTAS had offices next 
to the local military base in Lhokseumawe and that BEURATA 
today "offers its services to TNI."  TNI and the police have 
urged members to return home. 
 
¶14. (SBU) Aceh's sizable population of Javanese 
transmigrants declined sharply during the conflict, as tens 
of thousands became IDPs in neighboring North Sumatra.  GAM 
targeted the Javanese for expulsion or death, viewing their 
presence as a GOI attempt to dilute support for separatism. 
Today GOI encourages them to return; GAM opposes BRA helping 
reintegrate transmigrant IDPs.  Gardemeister said IDPs of 
Javanese descent returning to the area still do not feel 
secure from GAM attacks and actively seek TNI protection. 
Many IDPs refuse to return. 
 
Bireuen Regent: Violence Down, Few Returning IDPs 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶15. (SBU) The Regency of Bireuen, along with the neighboring 
Regency of Pidie, the heart of Acehnese civilization, offers 
strong support for GAM; GAM leader Hasan de Tiro hails from 
Bireuen, as do a number of other major Aceh figures.  The 
Regent of Bireuen, Mustafa Glanggang, told us that the 
biggest impediment to reintegration in Bireuen remains 
 
JAKARTA 00006497  005.2 OF 009 
 
 
unemployment.  He said GAM extortion had dropped, and that 
common thugs ("premans") rather than GAM ex-combatants 
commit most of the violence in his area.  IDPs, most of them 
Javanese, have only slowly returned to Bireuen.  Before the 
conflict, non-Acehnese comprised 10 percent of the 
population, he noted; today, they make up 2-3 percent and 
fear GAM reprisals.  No anti-GAM militia exist in Bireuen 
now, although Bireuen continues as the home of Anti-GAM 
Front Chief Sofyan Ali. 
 
Bireuen GAM Ex-Combatants: Payments Not Fast Enough 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶16. (SBU) We spent part of an afternoon with 12 GAM ex- 
combatants led by Husaini, new GAM Field Commander 
("Panglima") for the Bireuen region replacing Darwis 
Djeunieb, and Nasruddin, Senior GAM Representative to the 
Bireuen AMM office.  Husaini expressed discontent with 
efforts to use GOI reintegration funds for militia, IDPs, or 
anyone other than GAM.  "The MOU dealt with GAM alone, not 
with anyone else.  We believe GOI should follow the MOU as 
written; just follow the MOU.  Even public service radio 
advertisements about reintegration only mention GAM." 
(Comment: Following the MOU has become a sort of GAM 
shibboleth.  We find they reject ideas they don't like as 
inconsistent with the MOU.  In this case, Section 3.2.5 (c) 
of the MOU calls for compensation for "all civilians who 
have suffered a demonstrable loss due to the conflict", not 
just GAM. End comment.) 
 
¶17. (SBU) Husaini guessed that thousands of militia members 
still live in Bireuen.  He characterized the militias as 
"totally the creation of the GOI," not reflecting authentic 
Acehnese sentiment.  He said he did not oppose payment to 
the militias and IDPs, but not through the same mechanism as 
payments to GAM ex-combatants.  He said Bireuen's GAM has 
pushed for a big meeting of all elements of society 
including the militias to discuss the situation.  He said 
the militias fear this idea. 
 
¶18. (SBU) Nasruddin complained about the slow pace of 
reintegration payments.  "GOI has long promised each of our 
3,000 ex-combatants would receive Rp. 25 million, but where 
is it?"  Only about half of the promised payments have yet 
been received, he said.  He agreed with what others have 
told us, that a pokey bureaucracy rather than policy issues 
has kept money from getting delivered in timely fashion. 
 
Bireuen AMM Chief: Militia Also "Victims Of Violence" 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
JAKARTA 00006497  006.2 OF 009 
 
 
 
¶19. (SBU) Bireuen AMM chief Denis Pacis told us militia 
members should take part in reintegration efforts as 
"victims of violence."  He said inclusion of a militia 
representative on the BRA has not become a major issue in 
Bireuen.  He saw growing confidence in the local police and 
their ability to control violence.  He said police recently 
discovered a big marijuana field, which, they speculate, 
helps produce GAM needed revenue.  (Note: GAM, TNI and 
police have all had links to marijuana cultivation in Aceh. 
End note.)  He saw a continuing role for AMM in Aceh to 
assure success of reintegration.  Despite the growing 
confidence in police and declining levels of violence, he 
said "no one knows what will happen when AMM leaves."  He 
expressed doubt about Aceh's capacity to maintain security 
without AMM. 
 
Ex-Bireuen GAM Field Commander: Not Enough Police 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶20. (SBU) Former GAM Field Commander of the Bireuen region 
Darwis Djeunieb has moved to Banda Aceh where he sits on 
GAM's 30 member board while staying in close touch with 
events in Bireuen.  He told us that at least 500 militia 
members live there.  He said he does not oppose GOI paying 
militia members to reintegrate just as it pays GAM ex- 
combatants, but not out of the same funds as GAM.  He noted 
that most ex-combatants in Bireuen become small farmers. 
 
¶21. (SBU) Djeunieb said recently-arrested thugs in Pidie and 
Langsa do not belong to GAM, insisting police thoroughly 
identify the background and affiliation of criminals before 
venturing such an opinion.  (Comment: Like many GAM ex- 
combatants, Djeunieb belonged to thug group Pemuda Pancasila 
before joining GAM; the two organizations have long since 
become mortal enemies.  We suspect Djeunieb has a thorough 
insider's knowledge of crime in Bireuen.  End comment.) 
 
¶22. (SBU) Djeunieb, among the more charismatic GAM Field 
Commanders, told us he is happier now than when he lived in 
the forest during the years of the conflict and expressed 
distaste for efforts to tighten implementation of Islamic 
law in Aceh, a statement made that much more believable by 
the presence of an attractive young woman clinging to his 
side during our meeting.  He steadfastly refuses to run for 
office.  "The young should run for office" said the 45 year 
old Djeunieb, "then we can control them from above." 
 
Aceh TNI Commander: Aceh Is Safe, Militia Should Sit On BRA 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
 
JAKARTA 00006497  007.2 OF 009 
 
 
 
¶23. (SBU) General Supiadin, TNI Commander in Aceh, told us 
that he sees a three-pronged approach to ensure success of 
reintegration: negative attitudes such as the GAM's must 
end; the economy must improve; and Aceh must have better law 
enforcement.  His assistant told us of 402 violent incidents 
in Aceh since the MOU. 
 
¶24. (SBU) Supiadin said the militias should sit on the BRA. 
He said GAM should not complain about GOI plans to pay Rp. 
10 million to 6,500 militia members while providing Rp. 25 
million payments to 3,000 GAM ex-combatants.  After all, he 
said, "GAM itself came up with the 3,000 figure in Helsinki 
and put it into the MOU."  The conflict also victimized 
militia members. 
 
¶25. (SBU) Supiadin commented on how safe Aceh has become, 
noting the absence of roadblocks on any of the highways.  On 
April 5, he and 20 friends rode their Harleys from Medan to 
Banda Aceh, a 15-hour journey.  He said he found the main 
highway open, free and safe.  (Comment: Based on our own 
drive from Medan to Banda Aceh, we agree.  USAID colleagues 
report no roadblocks on roads in Central Aceh and Bener 
Meriah regencies.  End comment.) 
 
GAM "Prime Minister": We'll Run Our Own Candidates 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶26. (SBU) GAM "Prime Minister" Malik Mahmoud and Spokesman 
Bachtiar Abdullah told us GAM would choose to run its own 
candidates for Governor and Vice Governor rather than 
endorse those of an established party.  They said GAM plans 
to hold a major meeting late in May to choose candidates and 
take steps towards creating a party.  Mahmoud said GAM's 
party would participate in Aceh's 2009 elections.  He does 
not expect to move to Aceh permanently, but will commute 
regularly between Banda Aceh and Stockholm. 
 
¶27. (SBU) Mahmoud has delegated Abdullah to handle 
reintegration matters.  Abdullah said GAM does not oppose 
GOI funding reintegration of militia members, but GAM 
opposes Anti-GAM Front leader Sofyan Ali sitting on the BRA 
and will resign from the body if he continues.  "Why the 
special treatment for the militias?", he asked rhetorically. 
Mahmoud said GAM's most pressing problem at the moment 
remains medical services for Acehnese wounded in the 
conflict.  He said lines form around GAM headquarters every 
morning seeking health care as increasing numbers of wounded 
Acehnese come forward. 
 
 
JAKARTA 00006497  008.2 OF 009 
 
 
Anti-GAM Front Leader: Watchful, Not Scared 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶28. (SBU) Sofyan Ali seemed nervous.  The top militia figure 
in Aceh and now a member of BRA lives in semi-secrecy at a 
small Banda Aceh hotel with some of his men.  He said the 
Acting Governor appointed him to BRA because the GOI 
requested it. He had just come from the body's first 
meeting, and said GAM had no reason to complain about the 
relative difference between its 3,000 ex-combatants 
receiving payments and 6,500 militia to receive payments 
because "3,000 is what they negotiated in Helsinki." 
 
¶29. (SBU) Ali does not use "militia members;" he prefers 
"Front members."  He said his men do not fear returning to 
their villages despite what our interlocutors told us; they 
exercise caution.  Ali, nevertheless, looked scared when we 
met even though, as he points out, his men no longer get 
assassinated as had happened until the MOU signing. 
 
Police Intel Director: Reintegration "Not Yet Begun" 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶30. (SBU) Aceh Police Intelligence Director Nasikin told us 
that, in his opinion, the reintegration process has not yet 
begun.  GAM has not provided the names of its 3,000 ex- 
combatants.  He said security remains a problem in Aceh 
because of a lack of coordination between GAM leadership and 
members on the ground.  He said some GAM members turn to 
crime because they have no other source of income. 
Recently, he said, police arrested GAM ex-combatants 
involved in illegal logging. 
 
¶31. (SBU) Nasikin said he did not believe GAM members had 
given up all their guns, although he conceded they did give 
up the number specified in the MOU.  He estimated GAM might 
still have as many as 200, and thinks GAM members carried 
out the Langsa and Pidie robberies. 
 
New BRA Chairman: Optimistic 
---------------------------- 
 
¶32. (SBU) State Islamic Institute Ar-Raniry (IAIN) Rector 
Yusni Saby had just become BRA Chairman when we met.  He 
concurred with the prevailing judgment that bureaucracy 
caused the slow pace of reintegration payment.  He pointed 
out BRA itself does not control purse strings, providing 
only oversight to the reintegration process.  He said he 
would recommend BRA meet on a regular basis. Saby said IDPs 
need compensation. He knew of the controversy over Sofyan 
 
JAKARTA 00006497  009.2 OF 009 
 
 
Ali's position on BRA, but thought it could get worked out. 
 
Comment: Reason For Optimism 
---------------------------- 
 
¶34. (SBU) Despite obstacles to reintegration, the process 
moves forward.  All sides seek to address problems in good 
faith.  We remain optimistic reintegration will continue to 
advance.   Pascoe