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Free Aceh Movement or GAM leaders in exile in Sweden, Malik
Mahmud, Zaini Abdullah and Hasan Di Tiro are being questioned
by Swedish prosecutors who say the three are "suspected
of grave breaches of international law".
Indonesia claims the movement's leaders ordered an attack
on the Jakarta Stock Exchange in the year 2000 as well as
several other bombings, assassinations, arson attacks and
kidnappings.
The three came to Sweden in the early 1980s as political
refugees and are now Swedish citizens.
As such they cannot be extradited to Indonesia.
While Mahmud and Abdullah have been detained, Di Tiro, the
titular leader of the separatist movement, has not been arrested
because of health reasons.
Jakarta has been pressing Stockholm for the past year to
curb the activities of the exiled leaders.
For more on what led up to the arrests, Bharati Jagdish (BJ)
spoke to Ulf Samuelsson (US), Second Secretary of the Embassy
of Sweden in Indonesia.
US: "The process began last year when two Indonesian
government delegations came to Sweden. The delegations were
led by the former Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Mr Ali Alatas. He went to Sweden twice, once in April and
one in June last year. After his second visit in June, the
delegation issued a formal complaint to the Swedish police.
So then the case was handed over to the chief prosecutor at
the International Prosecutor's Office in Stockholm."
BJ: Swedish prosecutors say the arrests took place because
these three people were suspected of "grave breaches
of International Law". Would you be able to comment on
the charges?
US: "I cannot comment on that because that's solely
the responsibility and the privilege of the chief-prosecutor."
BJ: Has this been carried out with the endorsement of the
Swedish government?
US: "Well, you can't really say that because the prosecutor's
office is working totally independently, so the Swedish government
or even the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have no say in what
he's doing and what he's not. He works independently and we
cannot interfere in any way so you can't really say whether
the government is endorsing this or not. We're not part of
the process."
BJ: Is there anything else you can tell me about the procedure?
What happens next?
US: "Well, I can tell you that this is a part of the
preliminary investigation that the prosecutor initiated in
February this year. He opened the preliminary investigation
on the 16th of February. This arrest is certainly not the
end of the process. When it will be concluded, I cannot comment
on, but they will have to next make a decision on whether
to indict them or not. That is quite far ahead. What will
take place between now and then, I cannot comment either because
that's up to the prosecutor."
BJ: How much of this, would you say, has occurred solely
because of pressure from the Indonesian government and how
much because of actual concrete evidence against these three
GAM leaders?
US: "That's also difficult to say. The process started
because of the formal complaint from the Indonesian government.
When a complaint like that is received by the Swedish judicial
authorities, they have an obligation to investigate it. Otherwise,
they'll be breaking their own regulations. They would have
had to conduct the process in any case."
Ulf Samuelsson (US), Second Secretary of the Embassy of Sweden
in Indonesia, speaking to Bharati Jagdish.
Guerrillas in Aceh have vowed to maintain their battle for
independence despite the arrest of their leaders.
Meanwhile, Indonesian investigators are trying to gain access
to the three in order to glean information to build cases
against rebels detained in Indonesia.
But analysts in Indonesia are still not clear about the charges
against the GAM leaders.
Bharati Jagdish (BJ) spoke to political analyst, Humam Hamid
(HH) in Jakarta.
HH: "What we know is the Indonesian government sees
Di Tiro and the others as controllers and managers of all
rebel activities in Aceh and in Indonesia."
BJ: But that's true to a large extent, isn't it?
HH: "Well, the movement has been there for so many years
and the members of GAM certainly recognise him as the leader
of the movement."
BJ: So do you think the arrests are warranted?
HH: "We have to learn more before we can say anything.
The news just came today, so we need more time to consider
this."
BJ: Would you say that the leaders of GAM in Sweden are now
outrightly being seen as leaders of a terrorist organisation?
HH: "I think it is the right of the government of Indonesia
to accuse them but let's see how the Swedish authorities treat
this case."
BJ: What sort of impact do you expect these arrests to have
on the GAM rebels? They've said that they are going to continue
with their fight in spite of the arrest of their leaders,
but do you expect them to falter in any way in the near future?
HH: "I think that's meant to be seen. Hasan Di Tiro
may have been a great inspiration for their fight, but he's
been overseas for decades and they still carry on. So I think
it's meant to be seen."
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Budget 2012 immediate concerns