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Report: Massive troop reinforcements
planned for war-torn Indonesian region
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The
Associated Press
Tue Jul 16, 2:55 AM ET
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Report: Massive troop reinforcements
planned for war-torn Indonesian region
By SLOBODAN LEKIC, Associated Press Writer
JAKARTA, Indonesia - Indonesia's
security minister is recommending a massive increase in the number
of troops deployed to war-torn Aceh province, where repeated
military offensives have failed to crush a burgeoning separatist
movement, officials said Tuesday.
However, officials said no final
decision has been made on whether to dispatch the reinforcements.
Bambang Susilo Yudhoyono, a retired
general and the government's top security minister, has asked
President Megawati Sukarnoputri to approve the deployment of an
additional 8,000 troops to the province on the northern tip of
Sumatra island, the head of Indonesia's military told reporters.
Yudhoyono made the request after
completing a weeklong tour of the province of four million people
where guerillas have been fighting for independence since 1976.
Military chief Gen. Endriartono
Sutarto said Yudhoyono's recommendation would have to be analyzed
before it is approved.
"There should an explanation
for the additional reinforcements," he said. "Whether we
increase, or decrease, will depend on the evaluation."
Yudhoyono said a meeting of
security officials about the situation in Aceh would be held
Wednesday in his office.
The Indonesian military has about
20,000 soldiers in Aceh, backed up by about 8,000 paramilitary
policemen. The guerrillas are said to number between 2,000 and
3,000.
At least 10,000 people have died in
the war between government troops and the rebel Free Aceh
Movement. Human rights groups have accused the army and police of
using death squads, torture and massacring unarmed villagers in
their efforts to wipe out the insurgency in the oil- and natural
gas-rich province.
Simmering resentment over the
impunity of security forces and what is seen as Jakarta's theft of
resources have bolstered the independence movement.
The Indonesian army has about
230,000 soldiers, but most are assigned to a territorial
organization that parallels the structure and role of the civilian
administration. Only about 70,000 troops — including the
40,000-strong strategic reserve — are said to be combat-ready.
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