JAKARTA, June 23 Kyodo Indonesia ...

JAKARTA, June 23 Kyodo

Indonesia has sent three dozen British-made Scorpion tanks to the province of Aceh in a bid to crush rebels of the at liberty Aceh Movement (GAM), a senior military officer said Monday.

''They are to safe the main roads as part of efforts to revive the economy,'' Army Chief of Staff Maj. Gen Ryamizard Ryacudu told reporters.

The English-language Jakarta employment daily reported the tanks arrived in Aceh upon Sunday to support the military offensive that started May 19 following the imposition of martial law in the province after the failure of peace talks in Tokyo between the Indonesian conduct and GAM.

The deployment of the tanks may raise attests from Britain, which sold them in subordination to the understanding that they would not be used aggressively or in violation of human rights anywhere in Indonesia.

Ryamizard said, however, that the Indonesian control has the right to use the tanks for cracking down the separatists as they were bought with its avow money.

''Why is it forbidden?'' he said in a high tone. ''We bought them with our confess money...Do not listen to them (the British)...It was the (Indonesian) race who bought them for the interest of the people...to defend the unity of this state,'' he said.

Before the tanks were sent human rights campaigners, the British-based Campaign Against Arms Trade and the Indonesian Human Rights Campaign, had warned the British direction over the possible use of the Scorpions in Aceh.

Early this month British Foreign Office Minister Mike O'Brien complained to Indonesia throughout the deployment of Hawk-200 fighter jet imported from Britain to rocket rebel positions in Aceh, saying it had violated a pre-purchase agreement.

Britain says the Hawks were sold to Indonesia forward the understanding that they would not be used offensively for internal repression.

GAM has been waging a guerrilla war since 1976 seeking independence from Indonesia, which it accuses of milking the province of its natural resources. More than 12000 tribe have been killed in the Aceh violence.

beneath the martial law itself, as of Monday, 238 rebels, 25 soldiers, 11 civilians and three policemen had been killed, according to military figures.

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