Civil emergency status in troubled Aceh extended<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government has extended the state of civil emergency in Aceh,
\nbut is still undecided for how long the extension will last and
\nwhat areas of the province will be included in the order.<\/p>\n
The decision was taken during a limited Cabinet meeting
\nchaired by Vice President Jusuf Kalla on Friday. President Susilo
\nBambang Yudhoyono was in Cairo, Egypt, to attend the funeral of
\nPalestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who died on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\"The state of civil emergency will continue with several
\nadjustments to the time period and the areas covered,\"
\nCoordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs
\nWidodo A.S. said following the meeting.<\/p>\n
The current state of civil emergency was declared on May 19,
\n2004, following one year of martial law aimed at stamping out the
\nsecessionist Free Aceh Movement (GAM), which has been fighting
\nfor independence for the resource-rich province since 1976. More
\nthan 15,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Aceh
\nsince 1976.<\/p>\n
The current state civil emergency expired on Nov. 8 and
\naccording to Widodo, the limited Cabinet meeting agreed to extend
\nthe order to maintain peace and order in Aceh.<\/p>\n
Rights activists have criticized the imposition of martial law
\nand the state of civil emergency across the province, saying GAM
\ndoes not have a presence in all of the province's regencies.<\/p>\n
Widodo said the extended state of civil emergency would likely
\nlast for less than six months, and would only apply to certain
\nareas of Aceh.<\/p>\n
The retired admiral said the results of the Cabinet meeting
\nwould be reported to President Susilo as soon as possible.<\/p>\n
Widodo said that while large numbers of GAM rebels had been
\nkilled or arrested by security authorities, GAM still had the
\nability to create disturbances in the province.<\/p>\n
\"We have to maintain the momentum for peace in the province.
\nThere have been numerous achievements over the past six months,
\nbut we must remain vigilant,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Former president Megawati Soekarnoputri imposed martial law in
\nAceh on May 19, 2003, following the breakdown of a dialog between
\nthe government and GAM leaders in Sweden.<\/p>\n
After one year of martial law, which saw the deployment of
\nmore than 40,000 troops to the country's westernmost province,
\nthe government lowered the status to a state of civil emergency
\non May 19, 2004. This original state of civil emergency lasted
\nfor six months.<\/p>\n
\"We will also consult with the House of Representatives as
\nsoon as we have a definite decision from the President on the
\nextension of the emergency status,\" Widodo said.<\/p>\n
Commenting on calls from many Acehnese for the government to
\nrevive the dialog process with GAM, Widodo said the government
\nwas keeping open the line of communication with the people.<\/p>\n
\"We have never closed the channel of communication,\" he said.<\/p>\n
When asked whether the government would agree to a dialog with
\nGAM leaders in Sweden, Widodo said: \"Not formally.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/civil-emergency-status-in-troubled-aceh-extended-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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