GAM agrees to discuss autonomy, says minister<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Indonesian government has claimed that the Free Aceh Movement
\n(GAM) has agreed to discuss the special autonomy law for the
\nprovince, implemented by the government since January 2002, as
\nthe basis for future peace dialogs.<\/p>\n
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said on Monday
\nthat there were positive improvements after the two-day talks in
\nGeneva over the weekend and the two sides had agreed to hold
\nanother dialog in the near future.<\/p>\n
"We see a positive improvement as GAM is willing to discuss
\nthe special autonomy for Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam as the basis of
\nfuture talks," Hassan remarked.<\/p>\n
However, he refused to say whether GAM had softened its stance
\ntoward Indonesia, especially after the death of its commander
\nTengku Abdullah Syafi'ie.<\/p>\n
"The most important thing is that it appeared at the
\ndiscussions, when before it seemed to be reluctant to engage in
\nanother peace dialog with us ... There will be further meetings
\nin the near future," he underlined.<\/p>\n
The foreign ministry noted earlier several points as the
\nresult of the dialog, including that the two sides, "confirmed
\ntheir respect for the people of Aceh to govern themselves
\npeacefully and regret the continuing loss of human life in Aceh".<\/p>\n
The two sides also agreed to further deliberations on issues
\nof common concern, but provided no further explanation.<\/p>\n
Zaini Abdullah, a GAM negotiator, agreed the talks had been
\npositive.<\/p>\n
"We had very tough discussions about reducing violence and
\nsecurity implementation," Zaini said, as quoted by Agence France-
\nPresse in Switzerland.<\/p>\n
"I think the meeting was good -- we are closer.<\/p>\n
"We have to inform our people and we will be meeting again in
\n30 days to 45 days."<\/p>\n
In Aceh, GAM members welcomed on Monday the outcome of the
\ndialog and pledged to abide by the agreement.<\/p>\n
"This is the best outcome for the Acehnese and GAM. We are
\ncommitted to abiding by the agreement and we hope Indonesia will
\nalso take a similar stance and put it into practice in the
\nfield," GAM spokesman Sofyan Ibrahim Tiba told The Jakarta Post
\nin Banda Aceh on Monday.<\/p>\n
Although the Geneva meeting was informal in nature, both sides
\nhad a moral responsibility to implement the outcome, he said.<\/p>\n
"We feel happy because in the meeting three 'wise men' from
\nthe U.S. and Thailand were present," said Sofyan, referring to
\nU.S. mediator Anthony Zinni, former Thai Foreign Minister Surin
\nPitsuwan and Budimir Loncar of Yugoslav.<\/p>\n
Sofyan admitted that GAM had agreed to accept the special
\nautonomy status for Aceh as a pointer toward a more comprehensive
\nsolution to the Aceh question.<\/p>\n
According to Sofyan, the Geneva meeting agreed to a local
\ngeneral election in Aceh in May 2004, an end to all forms of
\nviolence in 2002 and transparent political dialog involving all
\nelements in Aceh in 2002 and 2003.<\/p>\n
He also said both sides agreed to meet again in Geneva in 30
\ndays' to 45 days' time to discuss a mechanism on how to resolve
\nsecurity issues in the province.<\/p>\n
While both sides negotiated at an undisclosed place in Geneva,
\narmed violence continued unabated in Aceh, causing the death of
\nat least 10 people over the two days.<\/p>\n
Local military spokesman Zaenal Mutaqin said on Monday that
\ntroops had killed two GAM members in East Aceh on Sunday and
\nconfiscated one Chinese-made pistol and 22 bullets.<\/p>\n
GAM spokesman in North Aceh Tengku Jamaika, meanwhile, said
\nthat hundreds of soldiers had carried out military operations in
\nvillages in the Kandang area near Lhokseumawe and in Nisam
\ndistrict.<\/p>\n
He alleged that the soldiers arrested five civilians in
\nKandang on Saturday; two of them were found dead on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The soldiers, however, denied the allegation, saying that
\nmilitary operations on Saturday and Sunday were routine patrols
\nto protect local people from GAM intimidation.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/gam-agrees-to-discuss-autonomy-says-minister-1447893297",
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