Most-wanted Aceh insurgent ‘agreed to surrender after Jokowi vowed amnesty’
Banda Aceh | National | Tue, December 29 2015, 1:39 PM
Most-wanted: State Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Sutiyoso (second right) poses next to Acehnese insurgent Din Minimi (holding gun) after the latter turned himself and his group in on Tuesday. (Photo courtesy of AJNN) National News
Aceh's most-wanted criminal and former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) combatant Din Minimi finally surrendered on Tuesday after three years as a fugitive, committing crimes as a form of protest against the GAM-lead Aceh provincial government.
Din and his 30 followers turned themselves in, witnessed by State Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Sutiyoso, also handing over 15 rifles.
"I am willing to turn myself in because what I proclaim and what I demand are positive things," Din toldthejakartapost.com in a telephone interview on Tuesday.
He said that he had been willing to come out from his hideaway following guarantees from President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo himself that his demands would be considered by the government. He had a telephone conversation with Jokowi three days ago.
""After receiving guarantees from the President, I was willing to surrender to the government."
"I demand that the government implement a thorough reintegration, and take care of the orphans and widows of former [GAM] combatants as stipulated in the Helsinski peace agreement,” he said, referring to the treaty that ended the conflict between GAM and the Indonesian government.
The government also granted Din's group an amnesty on all charges, another factor in his decision to surrender.
"My conduct will not be considered as a crime and we will receive an amnesty from the government," he said.
The process of his submission had been going on for two weeks, starting with Din contacting with Juha Christensen, a former member of the Aceh Monitoring Mission, which was actively involved in the peace agreement in Helsinski in 2005.
After intensive communication, Din and Christensen agreed that Din's case would be presented directly to Jokowi.
Following the latter’s approval, Sutiyoso then departed to Aceh to meet Din and oversee his surrender.
Meanwhile, Christensen said he was grateful for Din and his group’s peaceable surrender, which, he said, demonstrated that violent conflicts could be solved through peaceful means.
Christensen claimed he had initiated Din's surrender after growing concerned the conflict could escalate.
"I contacted Din a while ago and tried to approach him to settle the problem through dialogue and he agreed to turn himself in," Christensen said, adding that he had received help from Vice President Jusuf Kalla to facilitate the dialogue.
Kalla played a pivotal role in the peace agreement between government and GAM.
For Christensen, Din's demands of the Aceh provincial administration were positive but unfortunately never listened to.
"Din Minimi is not a separatist, nor a robber. He wants justice from the government for the orphans, widows and former combatants ignored by the government," he said.
Still, he believed that Din's armed fight was wrong despite the message of equality for all Acehnese after the peace agreement.
New leaf: Aceh's most-wanted fugitive, Din Minimi (left) hands a rifle to State Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Sutiyoso after surrendering to the government on Tuesday. Din said he was willing to turn himself in after three years hiding in the jungles of Aceh following President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's promise of an amnesty for Din and his group. (Photo courtesy of AJNN)
Around 110 members of Din's group will be granted amnesty by the government, according to Christensen, adding that the figure could grow to 180 as there are others involved, such as Din's family members and followers under police detention.
"During the conflict, [the Indonesian government] gave amnesty to more than 10,000 GAM members, so there is no reason not to give amnesty to several hundred people," he said.
According to a report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) titled "Din Minimi: The Strange Story of an Armed Group in Aceh, Indonesia", Din became an outlaw after joining GAM in the final years of its insurgency.
Din, born Nurdin bin Ismail Amat, was born in Keude Buloh village in Julok, East Aceh, 37 years ago.
He is the first of four brothers and his father, known as Abu Minimi after the machine gun (mini-mitrailleuse) he carried in the conflict, was a prominent GAM fighter who was killed sometime before president Soeharto fell in 1998.
Din and all of his brothers joined the struggle as soon as they were able to.
The IPAC report criticized the portrayal of Din as a Robin Hood figure who abducted corruptors and drug dealers and used the ransom money to assist orphans and widows neglected by the GAM leaders now in power.
According to IPAC director Sidney Jones, Din was in fact no better than an armed criminal.
Din shot to fame in 2014 as he opened access to journalists, delivering a consistent message that the GAM-led Aceh government had failed to fulfill its promises to former combatants.
"It has not given them homes or land, and has not lived up to its commitment to implement the 2005 agreement in full," Din said at the time.
Din’s long list of crimes started in mid-2013; most were extortions, kidnapping for ransom and attacks. His most serious crime was the murder of two military intelligence officers in March this year. (rin)(+)
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