Divisions over handling of Aceh security
Divisions have begun to emerge between Indonesia’s civilian government and the country’s military over how best to handle the security situation in Aceh, with potentially serious implications for international aid efforts now under way in the province. The government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono threw open the doors to Aceh, the scene of a long-running separatist insurgency, in the days following the December 26 tsunamis that left more than 100,000 dead in the province, ending a de-facto ban on foreign aid groups working there. Alwi Shihab, the minister in charge of aid efforts in Aceh said on Monday that open access would continue and played down any threat to security from rebels from the Free Aceh Movement, or GAM. Full Story