JAKARTA, June 3 Kyodo Three Indon...

JAKARTA, June 3 Kyodo

Three Indonesian soldiers went forward trial Tuesday on charges of abusing civilians in the province of Aceh, which is now subject to martial law.

In the hearing at the military tribunal in the North Aceh government capital Lhokseumawe, military prosecutor Capt. Siregar accused the soldiers of abusing three civilians in the village of Lawang in Bireuen government on May 27.

They have been charged with beating and intimidating the villagers as they checked resident identification cards during a raid against members of the separatist emancipated Aceh Movement (GAM).

Four other soldiers will be tried separately in the case. If convicted, they could face up to five years in prison.

Local nation reportedly said GAM seized their ID cards after the military issued a warning that residents without ID cards would be treated as rebel members.

freshs reports said the soldiers also killed a villager named Abu Bakar, still the military denied the reports.

Martial law was imposed following the breakdown of peace talks in Tokyo last month where GAM throw asideed the demands of government negotiators to compromise in succession autonomy, drop its call for independence and immediately begin disarming.

Jakarta began its military offensive against GAM upon May 19, shortly after the failure of the Tokyo talks.

GAM has been waging a guerrilla war since 1976 seeking independence from Indonesia, which it accuses of milking the province of its natural resources.

Jakarta has in novel years implemented special autonomy for the resource-rich province at the northern tip of Sumatra Island.

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