Aceh peace talks star touching on substance<\/p>\n
Agencies, Helsinki<\/p>\n
Aceh separatists and the Indonesian government will hold a third
\nround of peace talks in Helsinki in April with rebels ready to
\ndrop demands for independence in exchange for Jakarta agreeing to
\nconsider self-rule, they said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
A second round of talks ended on Wednesday with progress being
\nmade towards ending 30 years of fighting in the oil- and gas-rich
\nprovince on the northern tip of Sumatra island, which has cost
\nmore than 12,000 lives.<\/p>\n
\"The position of both sides (is) that we still have
\ndifferences, but at least we are starting to talk substance,\"
\nIndonesian Information Minister Sofyan Djalil told Reuters.<\/p>\n
\"We proposed special autonomy, they proposed the term self
\ngovernment. It's on the table, we need to discuss the concept,\"
\nhe said after the three-day talks ended in Helsinki.<\/p>\n
Martti Ahtisaari, who chairs the Crisis Management Initiative
\n(CMI) that brokered the peace talks, said the third meeting could
\ntake place in Helsinki in mid-April.<\/p>\n
\"It was agreed that this process should be continued. In order
\nto give the parties an opportunity to analyze the issues and
\nprepare themselves for a thorough discussion, I proposed that the
\nnext meeting be held in Helsinki on 12 to 17 April,\" former
\nFinnish president Ahtisaari said.<\/p>\n
He appealed to both parties to exercise utmost restraint on
\nthe ground as the talks are entering a sensitive phase.<\/p>\n
The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) had previously rejected offers of
\nautonomy, insisting on independence, but both the sides were
\nbrought together by the Dec. 26 tsunami which hit Aceh hard.
\nAlmost 240,000 people are dead or missing and more than 400,000
\nhave been made homeless.<\/p>\n
GAM's apparent change in position marks a possible turning
\npoint, though analysts and Indonesian politicians said hurdles
\nremained, especially regarding what the rebels meant by the term
\nself-government.<\/p>\n
A preliminary peace agreement reached in 2002 fell apart
\npartly over the issue of autonomy.<\/p>\n
GAM spokesman Bakhtiar Abdullah said the rebel group had never
\ndropped its demand for self-determination, but had agreed to talk
\nabout a concept of self-government for the province.<\/p>\n
\"We (GAM) have never dropped our demand for self-
\ndetermination. We are just ready to pursue all possible ways that
\nlead us to a comprehensive peace and justice in Aceh, especially
\nafter the tsunami struck the land,\" Bakhtiar told The Jakarta
\nPost by phone from Helsinki after the meeting.<\/p>\n
However, he refused to go into detail about GAM's concept of
\nself-government, saying that \"we will just define it and I'm not
\ngoing to speculate on something that has yet to be firmed.\"<\/p>\n
Bakhtiar also said that GAM's earlier demand for a cease-fire,
\nthe lifting of the state of emergency, and complete withdrawal of
\nmilitary troops from Aceh, would be discussed later when both
\nsides resume talks on security arrangements.<\/p>\n
\"We agree to meet in April and expect that for the time being
\nwe can talk to our constituents,\" Bakhtiar said.<\/p>\n
Damien Kingsbury, an Australian academic advising GAM, said
\nthe talks had achieved \"implicitly and indeed explicitly ... the
\nrecognition that the people of Aceh are not happy with the status
\nquo and there does need to be significant changes\".<\/p>\n
The rebels also say Indonesian government representatives will
\nreturn to Jakarta to discuss the \"self-government\" term.<\/p>\n
\"There has been discussion about the need for local parties,
\nand genuine representation and all of that, but beyond that
\nthere's no further detail,\" Kingsbury said.<\/p>\n
Officials in Jakarta declined to comment on the talks, but
\nIndonesia's powerful military welcomed GAM's apparent change.<\/p>\n
\"If they have softened, which is what we hoped for, this gives
\na good indication that the conflict in Aceh can soon be
\nresolved,\" Indonesian Military chief Endriartono Sutarto was
\nquoted by the official Antara news agency as saying.<\/p>",
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