ACEH, Indonesia, June 17 (UPI) -- The Indonesian separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) insists it will not be deterred by the arrests of three of its leaders in Stockholm.
Swedish authorities, acting on a request from the Indonesian government, raided the home of GAM founder Hasan di Tiro and arrested GAM heads Malik Mahmood and Zaini Abdullah Tuesday.
GAM spokesman Bakhtiar Abdullah maintains the arrests will not lower morale within the movement, the BBC reported Thursday.
In 1976, Hasan di Tiro declared Aceh, the westernmost province of Indonesia, independent from the rest of the state. Violence between GAM and the Indonesian government ensued and in May 2003 Indonesia initiated a large military offensive on the separatist movement.
The Indonesian government sees a direct link between the GAM leaders in Sweden and acts of rebel violence in Aceh and applauded the Swedish government for the arrests.
