Aceh peace given last chance<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Negotiators from Indonesia and the separatist Free Aceh
\nMovement (GAM) have left for Tokyo to give peace one last chance,
\nalthough a senior official said there was little hope the meeting
\nwould revive a faltering peace process.<\/p>\n
Negotiating teams from both sides headed for Tokyo on Friday,
\na day after Indonesia bowed to international pressure to delay
\nmilitary operations in Aceh and to meet with GAM one more time.<\/p>\n
If successful the talks could avert the collapse of a five-
\nmonth old peace process under the Cessation of Hostilities
\nAgreement (COHA) signed last December.<\/p>\n
Unlike the December talks which were brokered by the Henry
\nDunant Centre, the weekend dialog will be facilitated by the
\nJapanese government.<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for Security and Political Affairs
\nSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono said preparations for military
\noperations in Aceh were complete and that the government had
\nsecured the support of the House of Representatives for the
\noperations.<\/p>\n
\"The last opportunity to resolve the Aceh problem peacefully
\nwill be the meeting in Tokyo on May 17,\" Susilo said after
\nmeeting with senior ministers and security officials on Friday
\nnight.<\/p>\n
Susilo expressed his disappointment with the COHA, which he
\nsaid had been misinterpreted by GAM as a stepping-stone toward an
\nindependent Aceh.<\/p>\n
To revive the COHA, he said, GAM must accept Indonesia's
\nsovereignty over Aceh, special autonomy for the province, lay
\ndown its weapons and cease all armed separatist activities.<\/p>\n
\"However, the chances are slim that they will meet (these
\nconditions),\" Susilo told reporters.<\/p>\n
A presidential decree authorizing war has been prepared and
\nSusilo said it could be signed as soon as the outcome of the
\nmeeting was known.<\/p>\n
The planned meeting in Tokyo already hit a snag with the
\narrest on Friday of five GAM negotiators as they were about to
\nleave Aceh.<\/p>\n
National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said the five men had
\nnot been allowed to leave Aceh because they could be linked to a
\nseries of terrorist strikes.<\/p>\n
He said police had yet to receive confirmation from the Henry
\nDunant Centre, which mediated the COHA, that the five would
\nindeed attend the meeting in Tokyo.<\/p>\n
Exiled GAM leaders in Sweden deplored the detention of the
\nfive, however they said they remained committed to the Tokyo
\ntalks.<\/p>\n
\"We will go anyway but if our delegation from Aceh does not
\nattend the talks will be stalled,\" GAM delegation leader Mahmood
\nMalik was quoted as saying by Reuters in Stockholm before
\nboarding a plane for Tokyo.<\/p>\n
Also in Stockholm, GAM's chief negotiator, Zaini Abdullah,
\nsaid the group would go to Tokyo but would refuse to attend the
\ntalks unless the five negotiators were released, AFP reported.<\/p>\n
The planned meeting in Tokyo follows last-minute international
\ndiplomatic efforts to revive the peace deal.<\/p>\n
Sources told The Jakarta Post that President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri received calls from United Nations Secretary-
\nGeneral Kofi Annan on Tuesday night and U.S. President George W.
\nBush earlier on Sunday. Both expressed their concerns over war
\nplans in Aceh.<\/p>\n
Megawati delayed signing a presidential decree authorizing
\nmilitary operations after a two-week deadline for GAM to accept
\nthe preconditions for continuing the peace process passed last
\nMonday.<\/p>\n
Megawati's decision to return to the negotiating table won
\npraise from President Bush.<\/p>\n
But she is walking a fine line. The President must fend off
\nthe military, which has been pressing for war and on whose
\nsupport she counts for next year's elections.<\/p>\n
\"We will go ahead with our plan to launch a joint operation,
\nincluding the military operation, but we once again open the
\nopportunity to engage in a dialog (with GAM),\" the President said
\nafter a consultation meeting with the House of Representatives on
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
Legislators have already thrown their support behind military
\noperations, reducing the risk of a political backlash if Megawati
\ngoes ahead with the war.<\/p>\n
Indonesia plans to send up to 50,000 troops to Aceh, which
\nwould give the soldiers an about 10 to one numerical advantage
\nover the rebels. About 38,000 soldiers have been deployed to the
\nprovince already, which some observers say is sufficient for
\nlaunching a military operation at anytime.<\/p>\n
The scale of the operation would exceed any military operation
\nin Indonesia for decades.<\/p>\n
GAM has been fighting for independence in the natural
\nresource-rich province since 1976 in a war that has claimed more
\nthan 10,000 lives, mainly those of civilians.<\/p>\n
However, much will rest on whether GAM will accept Indonesia's
\nsovereignty over Aceh during the Tokyo meeting.<\/p>\n
The rebels have little if any international support, with even
\nSweden dissuading GAM from seeking independence.<\/p>\n
Last month's failure to hold a Joint Council meeting was
\nlargely blamed on GAM's refusal to attend because of trivial
\nconcerns.<\/p>\n
This time around GAM has already backed down on its initial
\ndemand that the talks be held in either Sweden or Switzerland,
\nagreeing on Tokyo for the venue.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/aceh-peace-given-last-chance-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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