Aceh rebels warn TNI may wreck peace deal<\/p>\n
Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) warned the peace deal it was
\nnegotiating with the government could be undermined by the
\nIndonesian Military (TNI), which the separatist group said had
\nan interest in ensuring the armed conflict in the natural
\nresources-rich province did not end.<\/p>\n
\"Aceh is a source of income, a place to loot. The tsunami was
\na godsend for them because the foreign aid is a new source of
\nloot. A peace agreement would deny them that loot.<\/p>\n
\"If any armed group is going to stop the agreement from
\nworking in the field or at the table, it will be the Indonesian
\nMilitary,\" the rebels said in a statement to the Associated
\nPress.<\/p>\n
The statement was issued just days after a fourth round of
\ntalks between GAM and the government concluded in Helsinki,
\nFinland. Both parties said negotiations were progressing, with
\nthe government claiming some 90 percent of the issues put on the
\ntable had been resolved.<\/p>\n
The military spokesman in Aceh, Lt. Col. Eri Soediko, refuted
\nGAM's accusation, saying the charge was unsubstantiated.<\/p>\n
\"This is a fabrication. We are here to guard the whole of Aceh
\nprovince from the rebels so the people can go about their daily
\nactivities without any problems,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Separately, Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono said GAM had
\nto accept the Indonesian offer of special autonomy within
\nIndonesian if the rebel group wanted a lasting peace in Aceh.<\/p>\n
\"The Indonesian offer is not negotiable,\" said Juwono.<\/p>\n
Juwono said the Helsinki talks were informal in nature so that
\nany decisions made at the talks would not have diplomatic
\nramifications unless President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stepped
\ninto the process.<\/p>\n
\"The President will decide whether or not the informal talks
\ncan eventually advance to formal talks and thus have serious
\ndiplomatic ramifications,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The talks are not formal as they do not involve the Ministry
\nof Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Home Affairs or the Ministry
\nof Defense, which are the three pillars of Indonesian
\nsovereignty, Juwono said on Monday.<\/p>\n
\"The talks were arranged by Vice President Jusuf Kalla.
\nPresident Susilo approved the initiative as Kalla has experience
\nin handling local conflicts,\" Juwono told House of
\nRepresentatives Commission I for defense and foreign affairs.<\/p>\n
Responding to concern over the involvement of foreign parties
\nin the talks, Juwono said such involvement was in line with
\ninternational law.<\/p>\n
\"The first article in the United Nations' statute recognizes
\nthe authority of countries over their domestic issues, but the
\nseventh article allows foreign participation when it concerns
\ninternational security. But there is nothing to worry about,\" he
\nsaid, referring to the involvement of the Finnish Crisis
\nManagement Initiative, led by Martti Ahtisaari, in the talks.<\/p>\n
House Speaker Agung Laksono reiterated earlier in the day that
\na time limit should be placed on the informal talks in Helsinki,
\nbecause the public needed certainty on when the decades-long
\nconflict in Aceh would end.<\/p>\n
Agung said the House would soon summon government officials to
\nexplain the outcomes of the talks.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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