GAM says ministers' visit touristic<\/p>\n
BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): GAM could not guarantee the security of
\nthe Indonesian ministers visiting the restive province, according
\nto GAM spokesman Sofyan Daud.<\/p>\n
"It depends on developments, especially when their visit is
\nproven to cause the people and GAM to suffer more," Sofyan said
\nto The Jakarta Post here on Tuesday. He did not go into details.<\/p>\n
"No one here wishes a visit from Indonesian officials, which
\nwill make no difference in the Aceh people's demand (for
\nfreedom)," he said.<\/p>\n
As many as 13 high-ranking officials, including ministers and
\nsecurity chiefs arrived and spent the night in Medan on Tuesday
\nand were scheduled to fly to Banda Aceh before proceeding to
\nLhokseumawe by land. Lhokseumawe is known as one of the
\nstrongholds of GAM.<\/p>\n
However, after a closed meeting with Aceh Governor Abdullah
\nPuteh at the Tiara Hotel in Medan on Tuesday night, the officials
\ndecided to go to Lhokseumawe (from Banda Aceh) by plane.<\/p>\n
Last April the helicopter carrying the Minister of Energy and
\nMineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro and his entourage,
\nincluding reporters from Jakarta, was shot at by unidentified
\narmed men when the helicopter was about to land at the ExxonOil
\nplant in Lhokseumawe.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian authorities said that the separatist group the
\nFree Aceh Movement (GAM) was behind the shooting.<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs
\nSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono leads the team in the two-day visit to
\nAceh.<\/p>\n
He said in Jakarta on Monday that the visit was aimed at
\nfinding short-term and immediate solutions to the complex
\nproblems in Aceh.<\/p>\n
However, GAM considered the visiting Indonesian ministers as
\n"tourists" as they would make no difference to the peace deal
\nprospects for the Aceh people.<\/p>\n
Interviewed by The Jakarta Post in Banda Aceh on Tuesday
\nSofyan said that what the people of Aceh wanted was international
\nobservers or a kind of a fact-finding team which would
\ninvestigate the human rights violations in Aceh,"the results of
\nwhich will then be forwarded to an international tribunal for
\nproper legal process".<\/p>\n
Some people interviewed by the Post in Banda Aceh also said
\nthat they didn't expect anything positive from the government
\nofficials' visit.<\/p>\n
"Such a visit is usually initiated by a sweeping operation on
\nmotorists or pedestrians just to make sure that the security is
\nguaranteed for the officials. People are not free to go anywhere
\nduring the officials' visit. So, no visit would be better for
\nus," said a Banda Aceh man, who wished to remain anonymous.<\/p>\n
The release<\/p>\n
Asked about the government's decision to free the six GAM
\nnegotiators who have been detained since July, Sofyan said that
\nthe six GAM negotiators deserved that without any preconditions.
\n"They committed no sin, furthermore, their release is one of the
\nconditions (set by GAM) for the Indonesian government to continue
\ntalks with us."<\/p>\n
"The release of the six benefits both the Indonesian
\ngovernment and GAM. Indonesia will be the target of international
\ncriticism if they do not release them."<\/p>\n
The six GAM negotiators are Tengku Nashiruddin bin Ahmad, Amni
\nbin Marzuki, Amdi bin Hamdani, T, Kamaruzzaman, T. Mahmud and
\nSofyan Ibrahim Tiba. They are all being detained at the Aceh
\nPolice Headquarters for treason under Criminal Code Article 106
\nand forgery under Article 236, since some of the suspects also
\nheld fake passports.<\/p>\n
Susilo asserted in Medan on Tuesday that the release of the
\nsix negotiators would be possible as long as "they were not
\nimplicated in any other charges".<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters Susilo said that certain "rules of the
\ngame" had to be established if the central government and GAM
\nwere to sit at the negotiating table again.<\/p>\n
Sofyan Daud said that GAM always responded positively to any
\npeace efforts initiated by the government. "But violence must be
\nstopped and what has been reached in the previous talks must be
\nfully respected and implemented."<\/p>\n
The separatist group has been fighting for an independent
\nIslamic state since the mid-1970s.<\/p>\n
The peace talks between the rebels and government
\nrepresentatives were sponsored by the Geneva-based Henry Dunant
\nCenter, which has been mediating discussions between the two
\nsides in Switzerland over the past 18 months.<\/p>\n
Violence and killings continue despite the peace talks. GAM
\nalways accuses the Indonesian military of being behind the
\nviolence, while the Indonesian military says GAM is to be held
\nresponsible for the violence.<\/p>\n
Megawati Soekarnoputri's administration has been aware of the
\nimportance of a peaceful solution to the Aceh problem.<\/p>\n
The newly elected President Megawati, in her first state-of-
\nthe-nation address on Aug. 16, apologized for past human rights
\nabuses in Aceh and the easternmost province of Irian Jaya.<\/p>\n
She pledged to maintain national unity and outlined her
\nvision, which will focus on efforts to rescue the country from
\nits current dilemmas. (42\/50\/sur)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/gam-says-ministers-visit-touristic-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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