Aceh officials face loyalty tests

The Indonesian military is battling separatist rebels in Aceh

The Indonesian Government has begun testing thousands of civil servants in the province of Aceh, to see if they are loyal to the state.

The civil servants face written questionnaires and interviews with the national employment body, the BKN.

The screening begins as the Indonesian military continues its military operation against separatist rebels in the province.

The military fired rockets on the North Aceh district of Nisam on Sunday and Monday, and the Free Aceh Movement (Gam) said the air strikes continued on Tuesday, although this was denied by the authorities.

The Jakarta Post said that about 10,000 people from three villages had been forced to flee their homes.

The government said a "re-registration" would take place of all public servants in Indonesia, but that it could include additional questions for employees in Aceh about their relationship with Gam.

There are concerns that failing the test could land a civil servant in jail, but passing it could incur the wrath of Gam.

"Gam has guns and lists of names of civil servants. Meanwhile, if we fail the government test, we will be considered Gam accomplices," one civil servant, Munir, told The Jakarta Post.

Dr Ikra, head of the Centre for Political Studies in Jakarta, told the BBC that the loyalty tests could prove counter-productive.

"If the government, for example, fired a lot of the public servants in Aceh... I do believe more and more people in Aceh, particularly civilians, will join Gam," he told the World Today programme.

Aceh military spokesman Ditya Sudarsono said on Tuesday that 309 rebels had been killed since the operation began on 19 May, and another 682 had surrendered or been captured.

The military's figures are frequently disputed by Gam, which says that casualties include many civilians.

Human rights groups allege widespread abuses by the military in Aceh.

Three soldiers, who were arrested on Friday, are set to go on trial after they admitted raping four women in North Aceh.