There's no positive change in the field at all,' said Mr Faisal Hadi of the Aceh NGO's Coalition for Human Rights. This conflict, not only in Aceh, but also in Papua and Maluku, has become its bargaining power with the civilian authorities,' Mr Hadi said. It is a way to strengthen the military's position, he added. Charred remains of houses and small shops are evidence of what local residents say is a common police and military tactic. After a GAM attack on an Indonesian security post or convoy, the police and military often retaliate by burning the property of local residents.
Police say they are conducting a 'law-enforcement' operation with military assistance.
We attack the military or police. They're going after the Acehnese people, whoever it may be - women, small children,' said Mr Sofian Daud, GAM's deputy commander in the Lhokseumawe region, where much of the fighting occurs. On the six-hour journey between Lhokseumawe and Banda Aceh, every small town seems to have a sandbagged police post, sometimes covered in netting to protect against grenade attacks which occur despite wooden barricades designed to slow the traffic in front. The police operation is led by young men from the paramilitary Mobile Brigade sent to Aceh from other provinces. They travel on high alert, sometimes in convoys supported by armoured vehicles from the Indonesian military.