Jakarta - After about 30 years of living in exile, Tgk Muhammad Hasan Tiro, 83, former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) leader, who has become a Swedish citizen, now has an opportunity to return home in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) province.
Hasan Tiro, who came from Tiro village in Pidie district, was expected to arrive at Sultan Iskandar Muda airport in Banda Aceh on Saturday (Oct.11, 2008).
Report said that from Sultan Iskandar Muda airport, Hasan Tiro would proceed to Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf‘s residence in Banda Aceh and later meet local people at the Baiturahman grand mosque.
Hasan Tiro will spend most of his time in his birth place in Pidie district, Aceh Party spokesman Adnan Beuransyhah said here on Friday.
Regarding his home coming, many people from various districts in Aceh have started to converge on the provincial capital of Banda Aceh to welcome Hasan Tiro.
People from Aceh‘s eastern coastal areas and other districts such as Pidie, Pidie Jaya, Bireuen, North Aceh, and East Aceh have started arriving here since Thursday in trucks, minibuses and motorcycles.
"We have come here at our own expense just to meet Hasan Tiro in person," said M Fakri, a resident of North Aceh district.
"To ensure security during Hasan Tiro‘s visit, KPA will deploy a 60-man task force in uniform and 300 others with special identity cards," said Abu Razak, Aceh Transitional Committee (KPA) spokesman.
He made the statement after a closed-door meeting to coordinate preparations for Hasan Tiro‘s return to Aceh.
The meeting was led by Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) provincial administration official Said Mustafa, and attended by Iskandar Muda Military Command officials, Aceh police officials, and a number of KPA officials.
Abu Razak said he had coordinated the KPA‘s security plan with Aceh police because special security arrangements were the responsibility of the law-enforcing agencies, including the police.
In the meantime, National Police Headquarters spokesman Inspector General Abubakar Nataprawira said in Jakarta on Thursday, there would be no special security arrangements for the former Aceh separatist leader.
"If he wishes to come, he is free to do so. For his security, well, there will be no special arrangements as we consider him to be an ordinary individual, not a state guest," Abubakar said.
He said the police saw him not as a former GAM leader but as a foreign citizen making a visit to his home village.
"The GAM problem is already settled. So, there is no more GAM. If he wants to visit Aceh, he can do so freely," he said.
While in Aceh, Tiro who is now a Swedish citizen would meet with the Aceh governor and members of the local community as well as his relatives.
Hasan Tiro controlled GAM for almost 30 years from Sweden, aiming to establish a state in Aceh separated from the unitary state of Indonesia.
The movement‘s efforts to achieve its goal through armed struggle came to an end following the signing of a peace deal with the Indonesian government on August 15, 2005.
Meanwhile, NAD police spokesman Senior Commissioner Ghufron said the police would not take special security precautions during Hasan Tiro‘s visit.
"The police‘s task is to ensure security, and special security arrangments are only meant for the president or head of state," Ghufron said.
He also said the police were still uncertain which areas needed to be guarded during Hasan Tiro‘s visit because the KPA had yet to give a written report about it.
Earlier, on Monday, another Aceh police spokesman, Adjunct Senior Commissioner Farid Ahmad Saleh, said police had yet to receive a written report on the plan of Hasan Tiro to visit Aceh.
"We have not received any written report about Hasan Tiron‘s planned visit to Aceh. We only know about it from the media," Saleh said.
More than 100 journalists from 75 media including foreign ones have been registered to cover Tiro‘s home visit, Adnan Beuransyah said.
Meanwhile, Army chief of staff, Jend. Agustadi Sasongko Purnomo told the press in Surabaya on Thursday that Hasan Tiro‘s planned visit to Aceh will not disturb security in the province.
There is no special security guard for Tiro as he is an ordinary person, the Army chief said.
On the other hand, Theo L Sambuaga, chairman of House of Representatives (DPR)‘s commission I overseeing foreign, defense and information affairs said here on Friday that there was no problem with Hasan Tiro‘s visit to his hometown in Aceh.
Tiro‘s visit to Aceh will be meaningful if as a respected figure he can affirm that Aceh is part of the Unitary State of the Indonesian Republic (NKRI).
"We welcome his arrival here as a figure whom Aceh people look up to, even though he has not become an Indonesian citizen," Sambuaga said.
Muzakkir Manaf, chairman of the Aceh Transnational Commission, said in Banda Aceh on Wednesday that Tiro‘s return would help strengthen peace as recommended in the Helsinki Accord. By Bustanuddin
Source: http://www.antaranews.com (October 11, 2008)
