Jakarta, dephan.go.id
Friday, 5 September, 2003

Defence Minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has reiterated that the government has no plans to decrease the number of TNI soldiers and police force in Aceh. He said this after a press conference to explain about the post-IMF economic stance at the Gedung Utama Sekneg on Thursday.

According to Susilo, the most important task for the government at the moment is to keep in the momentum in administering the operation to restore peace in the province. He added that the operations will be intensified to ensure it achieves its objectives at a maximum. "We will see what happens after that. From our observations on the ground, as well as reports from the area, there is no plans to decrease the strength of military presence in the province," Susilo said.

The Defence Minister also clarified that the government never targeted six months as the maximum duration for the operations to achieve its objectives, but that the six-month martial law could be extended indefinitely. "Please understand the true meaning of the presidential decree with regard to the matter."

On the possibility that the budget for the operations for the TNI and the Polri in Aceh may be increased, Susilo said that if such a necessity arises, it will be given due consideration. "At the moment the TNI Commander has not made such a request," he said.

Since martial law was announced in Aceh on 18 May 2003, or in its 109th day of martial law, TNI and Polri force had killed 817 GAM members, arrested 598 GAM members, while 476 GAM members had surrendered. The TNI and Polri had also confiscated 345 weapons of all kinds, from rifles to standard weapons such as the M-16, RPD and AK-47.

Cited from: http://www.dephan.go.id.