Muhamad Hasan Di Tiro, a former chief of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebel group in Indonesia, will return to his homeland on October 11 for the first time after he left 30 years ago, The Jakarta Post reported.
“His return has nothing to do with politics,” said Suadi Sulaiman, a spokesperson for the then GAM council. “He has been missing his homeland Indonesia very much, in particular Aceh.”
Hasan planned to spend between two weeks and one month in Aceh. He was invited by the Aceh government and legislative council, aimed at boosting peace in the province, which was engulfed in armed conflict for decades.
The Indonesian government and Aceh rebels signed a peace pact in Helsinki more than three years ago. Before that, Hasan led the fight against Indonesian rule from his base in Sweden as a Swedish national.
Hasan arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday and had met with several former leaders of the GAM, said an activist quoted by Indonesia’s official news agency Antara on Sunday.
The source also said that Hasan will stay in the city for several days to meet representatives of the Indonesian government and then be taken to Jakarta before being flown to Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, his home town.
But whether or not Hasan would fly to Jakarta first before heading to Aceh will depend on Jakarta’s lobby.
