BANDA ACEH, 13 May 2003 - Indonesia said on Tuesday a senior rebel commander in Aceh province had defected as thousands of government troops geared for a military strike on the separatists.
A rebel spokesman denied the government claim, saying Amri bin Abdul Wahab, one of several regional separatist commanders, had been kidnapped in the local capital Banda Aceh.
Jakarta said overnight it would take military action after its deadline for rebels to hold fresh talks to revive a December peace deal ran out. President Megawati Sukarnoputri will decide the timing in the next few days. On Tuesday in Banda Aceh, life appeared fairly normal for the city's 400,000 residents, with buses running and most shops open. Security forces guarded the airport, hotels and other key points.
In Jakarta, armed forces chief General Endriartono Sutarto said Wahab surrendered on Monday to authorities in Banda Aceh. "We thank God that Amri Abdul Wahab has said he is returning to the motherland...He surrendered himself," Sutarto said. It is rare for senior leaders of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), which has been fighting for independence for decades on the northern tip of Sumatra island, to defect.
Wahab has been in Banda Aceh as part of a joint team overseeing the five-month-old peace pact. International monitors attached to that team have pulled out. The GAM spokesman, Sofyan Ibrahim Tiba, said Wahab had been kidnapped under "mysterious circumstances." He said even if it was true he had defected, this would have no impact on GAM.
Sutarto, speaking before meeting Megawati and other security officials, declined to comment on the expected military strike. Jakarta had set Monday as the final day for the rebels to agree to fresh talks and other conditions. The decades-long conflict has killed more than 10,000 people, mainly civilians. The December peace deal initially brought a drop in violence but then began to unravel. Each side has blamed the other.
Officials have said parliament would probably be consulted over the timing of the strike after German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder ends a visit to Indonesia on Wednesday. He arrives late on Tuesday.
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