Govt, GAM discuss tough issues at upbeat peace talks<\/p>\n
Agencies, Helsinki<\/p>\n
The Indonesian government and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) leaders
\ntackled tough issues here on Friday at peace talks aimed at
\nfinding a solution to the decades-old conflict in the tsunami-
\nravaged province, and Finnish organizers said the atmosphere was
\npositive and constructive.<\/p>\n
The two parties met outside Helsinki for a second day after
\nagreeing on an agenda that includes security and political
\nparticipation by rebels within a "self-government" framework. The
\nGAM members have been struggling for independence for decades.<\/p>\n
"There are several options concerning local parties and we
\nhave to weigh them up very carefully," Damien Kingsbury, an
\nadviser to the GAM delegation, was quoted by AP as saying.<\/p>\n
"We have an awful lot on the agenda, but signs are that we
\nare on track and it's pretty positive."<\/p>\n
The negotiations, mediated by former Finnish president Martti
\nAhtisaari, are being held behind closed doors at a secluded manor
\nhouse. They are scheduled to end with a news conference by
\nAhtisaari on May 31.<\/p>\n
"The atmosphere is good given the difficult background," said
\nMaria-Elena Cowell, a spokeswoman for Ahtisaari's office.
\n"Cooperation between the two parties is functioning."<\/p>\n
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has said Jakarta
\nwill never allow the oil- and gas-rich province to separate from
\nthe rest of the country, but would give the region a greater say
\nin the running of its affairs. The government has some 35,000
\ntroops in the province of 4.1 million, where more than 12,000
\npeople have been killed in the conflict.<\/p>\n
The rebels, who originally were fighting for full
\nindependence, have agreed to opt for a form of self-government at
\nthe Finland talks, Kingsbury said.<\/p>\n
"It's a compromise, and one that the Indonesian government
\nalso understands and accepts," he said, but added that the
\ndetails still had to be worked out. "There's a clear commitment
\non both sides to come out with a positive result."<\/p>\n
The government has said it would like an agreement with GAM by
\nJuly or August. "This is not unrealistic. That could be
\nachieved," Kingsbury said.<\/p>\n
The first day of talks on Thursday focused on amnesty,
\nintegration in society and economic issues, and was held in a
\n"very good atmosphere", GAM spokesman Bakhtiar Abdullah told AFP.<\/p>\n
Hours before the fourth round of talks started, a gun battle
\nin Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam resulted in the deaths of three
\nsuspected separatist rebels and a policeman when the officers
\nraided a house in Bireuen district, surprising three rebels and
\nsparking the firefight, witnesses said.<\/p>\n
At the end of the previous round of talks on April 16,
\nAhtisaari said the parties made a breakthrough and that
\nsubstantive issues would next be discussed, including local
\nadministration, security and elections.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian government and GAM leaders, some of whom are
\nnow citizens of Sweden after seeking political asylum there years
\nago, have said they are satisfied with the talks, and have
\nconfidence in Ahtisaari, a former peace broker during the Balkan
\nconflict.<\/p>\n
The head of the Indonesian delegation, justice minister Hamid
\nAwaluddin, said in April that his government approved of attempts
\nby Ahtisaari to ask the European Union for peacekeepers for the
\nregion, adding that Jakarta was willing to request the same from
\nthe Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, the Indonesian government was said to be
\ngrowing impatient and said it had warned that it would not hold
\nmore talks with GAM should the current round fail to strike a
\ndeal to put an end to the conflict.<\/p>\n
But Abdullah remained optimistic. "Some people continually say
\nthe negotiations should not go on, but we are in Helsinki now, we
\nhope we can achieve (something), however long it takes," he said.<\/p>\n
The December tsunami disaster was instrumental in bringing the
\ntwo sides to the negotiating table, with the first round of talks
\nheld in January, after a previous peace deal was scuttled by
\nJakarta in 2003.<\/p>\n
The war in Aceh, one of the world's longest-running conflicts,
\nhas its roots in the occupation of the independent Aceh sultanate
\nby Dutch colonialists in 1870.<\/p>",
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