WHEN the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) was first announced in 1976, the name of Malik Mahmud al-Haytar was practically unheard of. In books written by GAM leader Hasan Tiro on GAM's battles against the Indonesian Army during the mid-1970s, Malik's name never once emerged.

Indeed, Malik, 64, can be counted as a `new' player in the Aceh battlefront. Compared to Husaini Hasan (GAM Education Minister who deserted the Hasan Tiro camp) and Daud Paneuk (G