Indonesia's parliament has said it will summon senior army officers linked to a brutal military campaign in the rebellious province of Aceh, where demands for independence threaten national unity.
Political analysts say efforts to bring to justice those responsible for mass human rights abuses during a nine-year military clampdown in the region are crucial if the government is to ease the pressure in Aceh to seek independence from Jakarta.
"They are being called because they were in a position of responsibility during the military operation [to defeat separatist forces]," Mr Syaiful Achmad, vice chairman of a parliamentary committee on Aceh, said yesterday. The summons includes three former armed forces commanders - Generals Benny Murdani, (former vice-president) Try Sutrisno and Wiranto. Gen Murdani was a main leader of the 1975 invasion of East Timor and is a former defence minister.
Gen Wiranto, now co-ordinating minister for political and security affairs, could be questioned tomorrow, and Gen Murdani, Gen Sutrisno and the other generals on Saturday.
Asked if the generals would turn up, Mr Achmad said: "If they are called several times and they do not show up, according to the law they can be jailed for one year."
The move comes amid heightened tension in Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra, where independence calls are mounting.
The present military comman der, Admiral Widodo, warned of a string of separatist movements breaking out across Indonesia. "Faced with the current situation . . . the threats which are most likely to happen are disintegration and separatism. The separatist movements in Aceh and Irian Jaya need to be handled and receive priority," he told parliament.
Another military commander in Aceh appeared to be taking a harder line. "Everyone will lose if Aceh is separated from Indonesia," Col Syarifuddin Tippe said.
Speaking from the capital, Banda Aceh, Col Tippe said the military was unable to guarantee the safety of all Acehnese people, and bitterly criticised moves to stem its power in the province. "I and my soldiers will defend Aceh from separation from Indonesia until our last blood," he said. "We are not afraid of people saying that we violate human rights. In the law, there's no such word as violation of human rights. We have every right too to protect ourselves."
The military has been pushing for a declaration of martial law in the province, a move strongly opposed by Acehnese and now also apparently rejected by the government.
Admiral Widodo has cited the possibility of separatism emerging in other areas, such as the large islands of Borneo and Sulawesi, the oil-rich province of Riau province on Sumatra and the ravaged Moluccan spice islands.
More than 1,000 people have died this year in religious warfare in the Moluccas, once a symbol of peace and harmony between Muslims and Christians. Separatist calls have been fuelled by East Timor's vote for independence in an August 30th referendum.
Meanwhile, Australia has announced that it will create two new infantry battalions for a period of two years to boost the country's defences during the East Timor peacekeeping operation, the Prime Minister, Mr John Howard, said yesterday.
The move will increase the number of active infantry battalions from four to six and bring the overall size of the army to 26,000 soldiers from 23,000. Air force numbers will increase by 500 to 13,500.
Australia has 4,400 troops in East Timor.