| Hey! That's mighty nice of them! |
.... "What GAM wants is for the international community to stay and help and see for themselves what is happening," the rebel, Mucksalmina, told a reporter on Sunday, using the common acronym for the Free Aceh Movement, the separatist army that has been fighting the Indonesian government for most of the past 30 years. .... Agreeing to meet at a secluded clearing, just outside this city and near the jungle where the group hides, Mucksalmina, a rebel spokesman, wanted to counter what he suggested was fear-mongering by the Indonesian government: that foreign aid workers could be killed or kidnapped by the rebels. The group has been accused of kidnapping civilians in the past, and the safety of aid workers has hung as one question mark over the huge relief operation here, along with the worry that fighting between the rebels and the government could hamper the delivery of aid supplies, especially to remote areas of Aceh. Last week, the government cited the possibility of rebel attacks as a reason for new travel restrictions for foreigners outside the two main cities, Banda Aceh and Meulaboh to the south. .... But Mucksalmina said that foreigners had nothing to fear from them and that the group's top leadership had issued orders not to harm any aid workers. He said the group was thankful for the help to Aceh from foreigners, including Americans, whose military helicopters full of aid supplies buzz nonstop to the areas most affected. "I am very grateful and thank the Americans and the rest of the world that when they saw this disaster they worked directly to help," he said, .... The real threat, he said, was the announced intention of the Indonesian government to scale back on foreign help in the coming months. ....
The rebels ... have been accused of abuses, particularly of kidnapping civilians and holding them hostage. In May 2004, according to Human Rights Watch, some 150 civilians were released in a deal brokered by the International Committee for the Red Cross and the Indonesian Red Cross. Human Rights Watch said it was unclear whether the rebels were holding any other civilians. .... Mucksalmina, the rebel spokesman, said his group was avoiding the camps and said they would not use food aid meant for refugees to feed themselves. He also said the rebels were giving their own stores of supplies to victims. He denied reports that large numbers of rebels had died in the tsunami. He said the rebels had lost about 70 male fighters and 48 women active in the group. .... He said that the rebels were observing their own cease-fire as long as the relief effort was operating and added that they would not attack government troops. "We won't use guns to take advantage of the situation," he said. But he added, "If the army fires on us, we will fire back."