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Aceh renegade turns himself in
The fugitive: Notorious Acehnese armed leader Din Minimi (center) strikes a pose with his men
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span class="inline inline-center">The fugitive: Notorious Acehnese armed leader Din Minimi (center) strikes a pose with his men. Din is reported to have surrendered following an intense negotiation process between his group and the authorities. (Courtesy of the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict/IPAC)
The most notorious Acehnese armed group leader, Din Minimi, is reported to have surrendered following an intense negotiation process the group had conducted with Indonesian security authorities.
Information on Din's surrender has gone viral on social media in the last several hours, but there has been no confirmation from security authorities.
The village head of Gampong Ladang Baro in Julok district, East Aceh, Yusri, told Serambinews.com that Din had returned to his home on Monday evening.
'It's true. Bang Din returned to his home in Gampong Ladang Baro after Maghrib [dusk prayers],' Yusri said on Monday evening, adding that he did not know what had induced Din to return.
'All I know is that Bang Din has come home. I don't have any information about his other family members because they were all resting that night,' said Yusri.
Din Minimi has long been a target of security operations.
The Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict's (IPAC) latest report entitled Din Minimi: The Strange Story of an Armed Group in Aceh, Indonesia reveals that Din Minimi has been falsely portrayed by various parties opposed to the current GAM (Free Aceh Movement)-led government as a Robin Hood 'who abducts corruptors and drug dealers and uses the ransom money to assist orphans and widows neglected by the GAM leaders now in power'.
The report further reveals Din has drawn the attention of parties who would like to see the Aceh Party, the GAM-led political party, discredited. They include the party's political rivals, intelligence personnel and extremists.
'Din Minimi is a criminal, whose activities only underscore how much violence lurks below the surface in Aceh after the 2005 peace agreement,' IPAC director Sidney Jones said.
'No matter how poorly [the Aceh Party] has governed, there is no excuse for turning an armed thug into a hero,' she went on. (ebf)
