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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001928 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
AIDAC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PHUM KDEM ID
SUBJECT: Opening of GAM office Generates Controversy, Reveals Splits 
within the Movement 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: On July 7, a small group of GAM leaders led by 
Muzakkir Manaf provoked controversy by announcing their intention to 
use the free Aceh flag as the party symbol and "GAM" - the acronym 
for the Free Aceh Movement - as the party name. GAM's spokesman 
defended the move by appealing to the Helsinki MOU and by claiming, 
incorrectly, that President Yudhoyono himself personally authorized 
the formation of a "GAM Party." The President, Vice President, and 
even Aceh Vice Governor have criticized the move as inconsistent 
with the Aceh Government Law and the Minister of Justice has said 
that the party will not be allowed to register. This episode has 
exposed the deep divisions within the GAM movement. Governor Irwandi 
Yusuf is out of the country and none of his closest supporters or 
any GAM-affiliated elected officials attended the announcement.  End 
Summary. 
 
GAM Opens a Political Office, Ignites Controversy 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
¶2. (U) In a small ceremony held on July 7 in Banda Aceh, former 
Senior GAM Commander (now Senior Coordinator for KPA, the committee 
for Change in Aceh, GAM's moniker within the province) Muzakkir 
Manaf and a small group of KPA officials formally opened a "GAM 
Party" Secretariat and announced that the free Aceh flag would be 
the party's symbol. The event was notable in that only a small 
number of GAM members attended; those elected to political office 
last December were completely absent.  Irwandi was out of the 
country and none of his closest allies were present. 
 
¶3. (U) During the ceremony, Muzakkir announced that the former 
rebels were making slow and steady progress in the establishment of 
a political party and that they had formally applied to register. 
The opening of the office and presentation of the party symbol were, 
he said, simply "routine" steps in the registration process. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Despite Muzakkir's innocuous description of the event, the 
announcement was anything but "routine." GAM spokesperson Ibrahim 
Syamsudin also downplayed the controversy by misquoting section 
1.1.5 of the Helsinki MOU which permits Aceh to use a regional flag 
and crest and by claiming, incorrectly, that the President and Vice 
President had authorized the use of the name and flag the previous 
week in a meeting with Malik Mahud. 
 
Jakarta Responds 
---------------- 
¶5. (U) When word of the GAM's claims reached Jakarta, State 
Secretary Hatta Rajasa told the press bluntly that GAM's claim that 
 
SIPDIS 
the President had authorized the formation of the party were untrue. 
Vice President Kalla blasted the announcement of the "GAM Party" as 
inconsistent with the Helsinki MOU. A police spokesman criticized 
GAM and also issued a warning: the police, he said, will use every 
means available to monitor GAM for separatist acts. He also warned 
GAM that while they have not yet violated the law, the police can 
arrest persons conspiring to take action against the country. 
Contacts in Aceh report that there is a constant police presence 
outside the new party secretariat and that the party name and symbol 
have been covered. 
 
GAM Members Criticize Party Announcement 
---------------------------------------- 
¶6. (SBU) The controversy over the party name and symbol is not 
limited to Government and security officials; some GAM members are 
displeased as well.  Several Senior GAM cadres close to Irwandi told 
us that the office was opened without their knowledge and at least 
three have called the recent acts unnecessarily provocative and 
premature given a lack of consensus within the movement about how a 
political party should be organized. Though Irwandi is still out of 
the country and has not commented on the issue, Vice Governor 
Muhammad Nazar distanced himself and Irwandi from the controversy by 
publicly reminding "all parties" that they must follow the 
guidelines in the Helsinki MOU and PP20/2006, guidelines which, he 
said, "everyone already knows." 
 
Will the Party be allowed to Register? 
-------------------------------------- 
¶7. (U) Under existing laws, the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights 
has responsibility for approving the registration of political 
parties. Minister of Justice Andi Mattalatta has said publicly that 
the party will not be allowed to register so long as it insists on 
using the GAM name and free Aceh flag as its symbol because they 
contravene regulations governing the formation of political parties 
as well as the spirit of the Helsinki MOU. 
 
JAKARTA 00001928  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
Internal GAM Dynamics 
--------------------- 
¶8. (SBU) Since becoming governor, Irwandi has regularly appeared 
publicly with GAM "Prime Minister" Malik Mahmud and has tried to 
downplay the rift in the movement which opened after he entered the 
Governor's race against Malik's explicit instructions. The 
movement's steps toward the formation of the party indicate, 
however, that the rift has not entirely healed. 
 
¶9. (SBU) The rift is clearly seen when looking at the party 
leadership structure - or the lack thereof. Invitations to the July 
7 ceremony listed Muzakkir Manaf as the deputy party chief but did 
not indicate who would be the party head.  GAM members - including 
those affiliated with the new party - either will not or cannot say 
who will be the party chief. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Zakaria Salman, former GAM Minister of Defense, has been 
closely involved in forming the party, cannot say who the party head 
will be.  Salman is an Irwandi rival who lost most of his influence 
when Irwandi won the election last December. He remains very close 
to Malik and attended the recent Malik - Yudhoyono meeting in 
Jakarta. According to him, Malik planned to assume the role of party 
chief himself but could not do so because he is not a citizen. Malik 
hopes, however, to "influence" the party from behind the scenes as a 
senior advisor. This tracks with Malik's comments to Consulate 
Medan. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Salman said that Malik's second choice was to install 
Muzakkir Manaf as party head but was deterred from doing so after 
Irwandi told him that he would lead the party when it was formed. 
Despite this, said Salman, Irwandi has not yet agreed to lead this 
"GAM Party." 
 
¶12. (SBU) Some other GAM-affiliated elected officials have not 
bought into the "GAM Party" either. One local leader, the Regent of 
East Aceh, criticized the way the party was being established and 
told us that he has not been consulted.  He worries that Malik will 
try to appoint others to lead the party in his district, something 
he and other local leaders would find unacceptable. Malik must 
accept that, he said, or get out of the way. Other observers concur 
that without the support of the GAM-affiliated government officials, 
the party will not be viable. 
 
¶12. (SBU) General Zainal Arifin, the head of the Aceh Peace, 
Communication and Coordination Forum, blames the current controversy 
on Malik Mahmud.  He believes Malik was looking for ways to build 
support and reassert his authority within the GAM movement. Using 
the flag and GAM name, Arifin said, was Malik's way of throwing red 
meat to low-level GAM members, many of which are not satisfied with 
the government and resent the economic success enjoyed by some GAM 
leaders. If Malik is to regain his former influence, said Arifin, 
this is one way to do it. Because the Government will not approve 
the formation of the party as currently proposed and because he does 
not believe Irwandi will go along with the scheme, he said, Malik's 
effort is almost certainly doomed to fail and he will likely lose 
out in the process. 
 
Hume