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Fragile archipelago

Indonesia secrete
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Local villagers carry the body of Free Acheh Movement commander Abdullah Syafii at Blang Sukon Village, Pidie Acheh, early morning of 24 Jan 2002. Abdullah Syafii was klled by the Indonesian army during a gunfight on 22 January. Many view that military operations so far this year have been more brutal than last..
 
Simple mound marks grave of Acheh's slain leader
SPECIAL COVERAGE By Ian Timberlake
THE ACHEH TIMES' CONTRIBUTOR
 
PIDIE, Jan 30, 2002 (AFP) —— An unmarked mound of muddy earth marks the grave of Abdullah Syafii, the Achenese guerrilla commander killed by Indonesian troops last week. His simple grave fits the spartan lifestyle that people say he lived but it is unmarked for another reason.
   
 

       
  'Instead of a tombstone, a green twig with two wilting leaves marks Syafii's last resting place. Beside it are three other mounds of dirt where his wife and two close associates.'   "If we put the names there the security forces will come and take the body. Later if it's peaceful, we'll put the names," said a man who was afraid to be identified.

Instead of a tombstone, a green twig with two wilting leaves marks Syafii's last resting place. Beside it are three other mounds of dirt where his wife and two close associates from Syafii's Free Acheh Movement (GAM) were buried with him on January 23.

They all died the day before in a raid by Indonesian troops on Syafii's jungle base elsewhere in Pidie district. Indonesian commanders say 20 troops on a routine patrol carried out the raid but a GAM spokesman quoted in the Serambi daily newspaper on Tuesday disputed that.

The spokesman alleged that Syafii died after a three-day battle with up to 600 Indonesian troops, some of whom were wounded and had to be evacuated by helicopter.

Syafii's funeral was tightly guarded by Indonesian soldiers. Only family and local residents attended.

He is buried within metres (yards) of what locals say was his home in Cubo, a rice-growing village accessible by a fragile plank bridge across a river.

       
  On Tuesday a continuous flow of mourners for Abdullah Syafii, the Free Acheh Movement/GAM commander; mostly women in a rainbow of colourful outfits, filed past the burial site and toured the four-room house. Some bent down to grab a small ball of dirt from the graves, for a keepsake they used at home when they pray.  
       
      Like many in the area, Syafii's house is built from unpainted wooden planks and has a metal roof.

"It's very different from the house of the Indonesian commander," said the unidentified man, who denied he is a member of GAM.

On Tuesday a continuous flow of mourners, mostly women in a rainbow of colourful outfits, filed past the burial site and toured the four-room house. Some bent down to grab a small ball of dirt from the graves, a keepsake they will use at home when they pray.

"Most of them are women because the men are afraid," said one of the few young men in the area.

The women arrived about 20 at a time, crowded into the back of small trucks. Some were smiling as they arrived. When they left, a few were weeping.

Local residents said Syafii did not live in the house very long. It was burned twice by the security forces, they said. The house shows signs of charring and is empty except for a heavy wooden bed frame.

The GAM has been fighting for an independent state since 1976. Violence involving rebels and government troops has already left some 10,000 killed, some 1,700 of them last year.

The rebel group has rejected Jakarta's offer of greater autonomy and more revenues from its natural riches and demands nothing short of independence, which Jakarta has ruled out.

US-based Human Rights Watch, in a recent report, said most of the deaths last year were civilians caught in military operations.

© 2002 Agence France-Presse. All rights reserved.

     
   

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