VZCZCXRO2162
PP RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #1957/01 2970905
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 230905Z OCT 08
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0396
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHHE/AMEMBASSY HELSINKI 0935
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 3192
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE 3452
RUEHSM/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM 2093
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHHMUNA/USCINCPAC HONOLULU HI
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001957 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
AIDAC 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MTS, INR/EAP 
DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS AID 
USAID FOR ANE/EAA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL SOCI ID
SUBJECT: GAM FOUNDER DI TIRO: ACEH PARTY POLITICAL INSTRUMENT 
 
Ref: Jakarta 1902 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary. Free Aceh Movement (GAM) founder Hasan di Tiro, 
who returned to Aceh on October 11 in an historic visit some 30 
years after he went into exile (reftel), continued his tour of Aceh 
by visiting the graves of GAM fighters and attending numerous public 
events including a large rally in Lhokseumawe on October 18. 
83-year old di Tiro remains frail and has refrained from making any 
lengthy comments to the public or media during his visit, relying 
instead on surrogates from within the GAM movement. Increasingly, 
his activities are being viewed as a political tool of the 
GAM-founded Aceh Party to bolster support leading up to local 
elections in April, 2009. While di Tiro himself maintains his 
commitment to the 2005 Helsinki MoU that brought an end to the 
conflict in Aceh and his visit has gone forward without incident, 
Aceh Party supporters are also testing the limits of police and 
military tolerance of their party's flag as a political symbol. The 
ninth meeting of the Committee on Sustaining Peace in Aceh (CoSPA) 
October 18 featured a litany of alleged violations on the part of 
Aceh Party supporters presented by the military and police. End 
Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) On October 17 Hasan di Tiro concluded 4 days of events in 
his home district of Pidie with a visit to his childhood school. In 
the days prior he went to the location of his 1976 announcement of 
the GAM movement, and visited the grave of Tengku Abdullah Syaffiie, 
a luminary of the GAM movement who coordinated GAM military activity 
until he was killed in 2002. Di Tiro added visits to the burial 
sites of other senior GAM soldiers to his itinerary. On October 18 
di Tiro departed for neighboring Bireun district to see sites where 
he had stayed prior to fleeing Indonesia. Many locals reportedly 
reacted emotionally to his presence and the roads were, according to 
media reports, lined with his supporters. Indonesian police 
supported the security for his activities without incident. 
 
Crowds Flock to see di Tiro 
--------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (U) At midday on October 18 di Tiro attended an event in Desa 
Kubu with former GAM "Prime Minister" Malikh Makhmud, former GAM 
commander Muzakkir Manaf, and Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf. Di Tiro 
reiterated his call for all Achenese to maintain the peace in Aceh 
through a statement again read surrogate Malikh Makhmud. From Desa 
Kubu the group proceeded to Lhokseumawe and North Aceh past 
roadsides again packed with people who had come to see the 30-car 
convoy pass. In the town of Lhokseumawe crowds estimated at some 
2,000 people gathered at a field to hear di Tiro speak. Once again 
the speech was read by Malikh Makhmud, and local religious leaders 
also arrived and publicly gave their support to di Tiro. During the 
following public prayer several KPA (Aceh Transition Committee 
organization for ex-GAM) members formed a line and held up a banner 
asking for "political prisoners" held by the central government to 
be freed. The banner was up for only a few seconds and was rolled up 
prior to the end of the prayer. 
 
Praise for SBY, Kalla 
--------------------- 
 
¶4.  (U) di Tiro continued his tour of areas in Aceh by meeting 
crowds at a rally in Peruelak on Sunday, October 19. In remarks read 
for him by former GAM "Foreign Minister" Zaini Abdullah he mentioned 
special thanks to Aceh Monitoring Mission Chairman Peter Faith, 
former Finnish President Marthi Ahtisaari, the U.S. government, 
Japanese government, and all others in the international community 
who supported the 2005 Helsinki MoU. Di Tiro also thanked the 
Indonesian government and especially recognized President Yudhoyono 
and Vice President Kalla. The speech also urged groups who are 
against the MoU to think with "rational and cool heads" and follow 
di Tiro's advice to stay together and maintain peace with the 
others. Di Tiro was also quoted by the media on October 18 saying 
that "the sacrifices made during the war were tremendous, but the 
sacrifices needed to keep the peace are greater still. Thus, I urge 
all Acehnese to think about Aceh together to reach a better more 
prosperous future." 
 
Health Concerns Remain 
---------------------- 
 
JAKARTA 00001957  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Questions continue to be raised about the state of di 
Tiro's health. According to GAM member Fauzi, di Tiro's nephew, he 
is unable to speak in long sentences, usually simply replying yes or 
no and nodding or shaking his head. Fauzi told Consulate Medan 
during the 9th CoSPA meeting on October 18 that the inner circle of 
GAM monitors di Tiro's contacts and screens him from outsiders. An 
Aceh Reconstruction Agency (BRR) government contact from Lhokseumwe 
said that access badges are provided for those who wanted to see di 
Tiro but that it is very hard to set any schedule to speak with him. 
The Chief of North Aceh Police, Zulkifli, confirmed Fauzi's 
statement regarding di Tiro's isolation. Media reports from the 
October 19 event in Pereulak (para 4) characterized di Tiro as 
"visibly exhausted". 
 
Government Concerned over Aceh Party 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Local police and military commanders from northern Aceh 
openly questioned the motives of the Aceh Party in the lead-up and 
execution of di Tiro's visit to Aceh at the 9th CoSPA meeting 
attended by an observer from Consulate Medan in Lhokseumawe on 
October 18. They provided photographic evidence of the Aceh Party 
repainting a small bridge in the party's colors, flying the party 
flag above the Indonesian flag, and local politicians putting Aceh 
Party logos on state vehicles. Military and police attending the 
meeting, along with the Jakarta-based Forum for Communication and 
Coordination (FKK) added that di Tiro's visits and entourage 
consisting of GAM "commanders" calls into question the sincerity of 
the organization to renounce armed conflict and transform itself 
into a purely political movement through the Aceh Party. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) During the CoSPA on October 18 participants also discussed 
the reason for the cancellation of the proposed meeting between 
Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla and Hasan di Tiro. A letter 
from GAM inviting Kalla to meet di Tiro in Aceh was circulated at 
the meeting, depicting the GAM letterhead from Stockholm, Sweden but 
signed in Banda Aceh. The assertion of the FKK participants was that 
this was found to be offensive enough to Kalla for him to cancel the 
proposed meeting. FKK members also expressed how the list of 
violations indicated was eroding confidence in the Aceh peace 
process and undermining the argument that GAM was committed to 
transitioning to purely political processes and giving up 
separatism.