http://www.theage.com.au/world/former-aceh-guerilla-leader-returns-to-a-heros-welcome-20081012-4z41.html?page=-1
Former Aceh guerilla leader returns to a hero's welcome a.. October 13, 2008 Back home: "I am happy to have arrived in Aceh. Allahu Akbar!" Hasan di Tiro said. Photo: AP Hasan di Tiro's 30-year absence has only added to his mystique, writes Tom Allard. CHEERED raucously by tens of thousands of supporters and declaring the Aceh peace accord a precious gift from Allah, Aceh's legendary independence leader Hasan di Tiro has returned to his homeland after almost 30 years. A frail and emotional Dr di Tiro, a descendant of one of Aceh's most storied religious and political families who abandoned a business career in the US to fight as a guerilla in the jungles of Aceh, kneeled on an Islamic prayer mat and kissed the tarmac upon his arrival. Thousands lined the route to Banda Aceh's Grand Mosque, which was packed with people who had been pouring into the Acehnese capital for days ahead of the visit of the man who founded the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and was for decades regarded by Jakarta as its mortal enemy. Now 83 and in poor health following three strokes, Dr di Tiro waved and spoke briefly from the mosque, saying only: "I am happy to have arrived in Aceh. Allahu Akbar!" A senior GAM official, Malik Mahmud, then read out his statement. "The freedom and peace across Aceh today is a precious gift given by Allah to Aceh. Never before in Aceh's history of colonialism and occupation by foreign nations have the people gained freedom and peace in general as today," the statement said. "Preserve the peace for the welfare of us all." Dr di Tiro's declaration of independence in 1976 for the distinctive region on Indonesia's northern tip ushered in a blood-soaked civil war that lasted until 2005 and resulted in 15,000 deaths. As a guerilla, Dr di Tiro listened to Vivaldi and Bach while he plotted the insurgency of a people who devoutly follow Islam, had a powerful empire in the 17th century and ferociously resisted Dutch colonisers. He fled after being wounded in 1979, ending up in Sweden. His absence only added to his mystique among Acehnese supporters of independence, and his diaries of his time as a guerilla were widely circulated. "We are excited to finally see the man who has been behind all the struggle of Aceh," said Imran Abdullah, a high-school teacher in Banda Aceh. The devastating Boxing Day tsunami of 2004 that killed 170,000 Acehnese provided the impetus for the peace accord, encouraging both sides to make compromises and focusing the attention of the international community on the region. Aceh's current Governor and former GAM leader, Irwandi Yusuf, escaped from prison after the tsunami destroyed it. The deal was brokered in part by this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner, Finnish diplomat Martti Ahtisaari. GAM - which at one point controlled as much as 80% of Aceh's territory - laid down its arms and Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono offered concessions enabling Aceh to become an autonomous region within the republic. Dr Yudhoyono is also widely credited with keeping the Indonesian military onside. Dr di Tiro's visit was timely because, with much of the post-tsunami reconstruction work completed, there have been renewed tensions in Aceh. Some GAM forces have returned to banditry and extortion, and there have been small explosions outside the homes of politicians and minor stand-offs between GAM supporters and Indonesian soldiers.
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