Govt spells out conditions for talks with GAM<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro and Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government has spelled out conditions for the planned Joint
\nCouncil meeting with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Geneva, but
\nemphasized that the terms were non-negotiable.<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs
\nSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono said here on Wednesday that the special
\nautonomy status was final for Aceh and GAM had to accept the
\narrangement if it wanted to salvage the peace accord signed on
\nDec. 9, 2002.<\/p>\n
He also stressed that the rebels had to lay down their arms
\nbefore government troops and police personnel were moved from
\noffensive to defensive positions as both agreed on in the
\nCessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA).<\/p>\n
\"The special autonomy is final and GAM has to accept it. This
\nis a major point of the peace deal because it is the starting
\npoint for all processes to be carried out within the framework of
\nthe unitary state of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"We (the government) will also not relocate our military and
\npolice personnel unless the rebels disarm themselves. After the
\nmeeting, we will see whether or not they put down their weapons,\"
\nSusilo told a press conference.<\/p>\n
The government and GAM agreed to meet in Geneva to discuss the
\nimplementation of COHA on April 25 and 26.<\/p>\n
Susilo will lead Indonesia's delegation to the meeting. Senior
\ndiplomat Ali Alatas and peace negotiator Wiryono Sastrohandoyo
\nwill also attend the talks, along with Isaac Latuconsina of the
\nHouse of Representative's Commission I for defense and security
\naffairs.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto and
\nthe National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief A.M. Hendropriyono
\nare also joining the delegation but \"will not attend the
\nmeetings.\"<\/p>\n
\"We need the presence of the TNI chief and BIN chief to give
\nus input on the meeting because we are going to file complaints
\nagainst GAM's deviant stances by collecting taxes from people,
\ninstalling local officials and recruiting more members since the
\nsigning of COHA in December last year,\" Susilo said.<\/p>\n
Under the special autonomy law introduced on Jan. 1, 2001,
\nresource-rich Aceh is allowed, among other things, to retain up
\nto 70 percent of its revenue from oil and gas. The province is
\nalso allowed to introduce Islamic law and set up a sharia court.<\/p>\n
In the COHA, GAM, which has been fighting for independence
\nsince 1976, accepted the special autonomy arrangement as a
\nstarting point, and agreed to lay down their weapons in stages
\nuntil fully disarming by July 9, 2003. The government, for its
\npart, agreed to move troops and police from striking positions to
\ndefensive ones. Neither side, however, has made good on their
\npromises.<\/p>\n
The upcoming meeting is also expected to deal with the
\nviolations of the agreement.<\/p>\n
According to the COHA, a Joint Council meeting is convened if
\nthe Joint Security Committee, which is tasked with overseeing the
\nimplementation of the peace agreement, fails to handle reported
\nviolations of the agreement. Should the Joint Council meeting
\nfail to find solutions to those violations, either party may pull
\nout of the peace agreement.<\/p>\n
Susilo said the government would decide 30 days after the
\nmeeting whether to abandon the pact with GAM or stick with it.<\/p>\n
\"If the conditions continue to worsen after 30 days, the
\ngovernment can unilaterally say that it is no longer bound by the
\nCOHA,\" he stated.<\/p>\n
He said the other options would not necessarily be a military
\noperation but declined to elaborate beyond that.<\/p>\n
However, on Tuesday, military leaders ordered two battalions
\nof marines and 6,000 Mobile Brigade police personnel to stand by
\nfor security operations in Aceh if the upcoming meeting hit a
\nsnag.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-spells-out-conditions-for-talks-with-gam-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}