BANDA ACEH, Indonesia — Hundreds of Muslim militants, best known for smashing up Jakarta discos or advocating Islamic rule, have poured into devastated Aceh province with the help of the Indonesian military to aid in disaster relief.
The Islamic Defenders Front and the Indonesian Mujahedin Council have set up camp at the same Indonesian military air base in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, being used by U.S. Navy helicopters for aid flights to victims of the Dec. 26 tsunami.
So far, the two sides have kept their distance. But the militants' presence and their apparent plan to develop long-term influence here could complicate efforts to bring peace to a region long troubled by a separatist conflict and make the province a religious battleground.
"We saw the American soldiers helping the Acehnese, and that is a good thing," said Hilmy Bakar Almascaty, head of the Islamic Defenders Front mission in Aceh, on the island of Sumatra. "They come here to help us and we welcome them. However, if they interfere with our tradition, or civilization or law, that would become a problem."
Almascaty's group, which he said could soon number more than 1,000, has focused on the grisly job of pulling bodies from the rubble and cleaning up damaged mosques. U.S. officials have played down any possible threat and have not curtailed operations at the air base because of the militants' presence.
Indonesian army spokesman Col. Djazairi Nachrowi praised the efforts of the militants and said they should not be discriminated against simply because of their past willingness to use violence to further their ideology.
"I think we have to put aside the negative thinking and prejudice," Nachrowi said. "We should focus our thoughts on things that would help the victims."
Both the army and the Muslim militants oppose the military campaign by Acehnese rebels to establish their own nation.
"Of course, we reject that," Almascaty said. "The united Republic of Indonesia is final. Our country must not shrink."
For nearly three decades, the Acehnese separatists have battled the central government in a war that has claimed thousands of lives. The rebels, who call their organization the Free Aceh Movement, contend that Aceh was annexed illegally by Indonesia when the country was founded in 1945.
In May 2003, the Indonesian government placed the province under strict military control in an attempt to crush the rebels. Human rights groups and victims' families have charged that Indonesian troops have singled out and killed civilians, some boys as young as 12.
The government has granted Aceh partial autonomy that permits the limited implementation of Islamic law. Although the separatists are devout Muslims, they reject autonomy, saying they are seeking independence, not Islamic law.
But for the Muslim militants, having Islamic law should be enough.
"They have been granted autonomy to implement the Islamic law formally already, so why do they want to have their independence?" asked Almascaty. "They have no reason for independence."
When the tsunami hit, the Indonesian army suffered losses far greater than it had in any battle with the rebels. More than 500 soldiers were killed or are missing. Hundreds of military family members also were lost.
The separatists, who have generally been pushed to the interior by the army, suffered relatively few casualties from the tsunami. The Free Aceh Movement immediately declared a cease-fire, but both sides have reported a number of clashes.
Col. Ahmad Yani Basuki, an army spokesman, said today that the military was stepping up action against the separatists. He said seven rebels who allegedly disrupted aid distribution had been arrested, but he refused to give details.
Separatist leaders who operate from the safety of Sweden deny obstructing aid have praised the arrival of foreign help, especially the U.S. military.
"Things began to change for the better when the U.S. naval forces landed in Aceh," said Malik Mahmud, who goes by the title prime minister of the Acehnese government-in-exile. "Their helicopters were immediately on the move, locating survivors and delivering aid directly to the neediest."
Mahmud expressed hope that the opening of Aceh to foreign troops, aid groups, journalists and others would lead to renewed peace negotiations and an end to the conflict.
"The catastrophe should provide both conflicting parties ... a chance to improve their relationship and seek a sustainable peace resolution," Mahmud said in an interview by e-mail.
The changing dynamics in Aceh could give the Muslim militants an opportunity to establish a beachhead in a province where they have been shut out.
In recent years, the Free Aceh Movement has rejected offers of assistance from extremists including representatives of Osama bin Laden and the militant Indonesian group Laskar Jihad.
