Inclusive dialog needed to end Aceh conflict<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
An all-inclusive dialog was urgently needed to end the prolonged
\nconflict in troubled Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province, not the
\ncurrent military operation, human rights activists and House of
\nRepresentatives legislators said.<\/p>\n
Interviewed separately on Tuesday, chairman of the Aceh
\nReferendum Information Center (SIRA) Muhammad Nazar and human
\nrights campaigner Maimul Fidar asked the government to begin a
\ndialog as soon as possible.<\/p>\n
\"An all-inclusive dialog, along with a cease fire, should be
\nput forward by the government, not solved by a military
\noperation,\" Nazar told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
The military operation was only worsening the situation and
\nthe current condition, and there was solid proof of that, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Fidar shared Nazar's view, saying that military operations so
\nfar had not done anything to solve the prolonged conflict.<\/p>\n
\"We have seen that a military approach cannot work in Aceh, so
\nthe government has to be patient and try to initiate an all-
\ninclusive dialog,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said that the military approach would be a waste of time
\nand only claim more innocent lives.<\/p>\n
\"The military cannot tell the difference between the common
\npeople and GAM members,\" the activist said.<\/p>\n
The debate over military operations came to the fore as the
\ndeadline of Presidential instruction No. 1\/2002 nears in July.<\/p>\n
Many have seen that the instruction, which has provided
\njustification for the Indonesian Military (TNI) to do whatever it
\ntakes to maintain law and order, had failed to create peace in
\nAceh and instead had encouraged the separatist Free Aceh Movement
\n(GAM) soldiers to step up their fight.<\/p>\n
But, unlike the rights activists, House legislators asked the
\ngovernment to simultaneously proceed with dialogs and military
\noperations to deal with the separatist movement in the country.<\/p>\n
Legislator Sutradara Gintings of the House Commission I on
\npolitical and security affairs said on Tuesday that a dialog
\nalone would not settle the conflict, as \"GAM is demanding
\noutright independence.\"<\/p>\n
He, however, said that the government and the lawmakers must
\nsolemnly set a political decision that the military approach
\nshould not be used by the TNI as a \"license to kill\" civilians.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Gintings' associate in Commission I, Happy Bone
\nZulkarnain, reminded that the military must understand that a
\nseparatist movement was not merely a military issue.<\/p>\n
\"Many elements in Aceh agreed to continue talks with the
\ngovernment. It means that a political approach should still be
\nconsidered,\" Happy said.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, the commission held a hearing with Army Chief of
\nStaff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu to discuss various problems,
\nincluding the military's stance over the separatist movement.<\/p>\n
Ryamizard, along with his staff, attended the hearing in full
\ncombat uniforms and proceeded to question the lawmakers for
\ngiving the mandate of stopping the separatist movement in Aceh to
\nthe undermanned police. He stated that, \"it should be the
\nmilitary's duty.\"<\/p>\n
\"The Police are non-combatants, so they're not allowed to deal
\nwith the rebel group which is a combatant,\" Ryamizard said.<\/p>\n
Asked whether the TNI was worried about another failure as had
\nhappened in East Timor, or its 10-year military operation in Aceh
\nfrom 1988 until 1998, Ryamizard replied, \"Those were not our
\nfault. It's because of the politicians' failure with their
\ndiplomacy.\"<\/p>\n
Earlier on Monday, the Commission held a hearing with TNI
\nchief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, in which the latter had also
\ntaken the same position as Ryamizard in dealing with GAM.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Aceh's Iskandar Muda Military Command hailed the
\nHouse's support for the military to heighten its operation in the
\nprovince.<\/p>\n
\"The TNI chief has said that such a military operation could
\nbe held if it is supported by the people,\" spokesman for the
\nmilitary command Lt. Col. Firdaus Komarno said on Tuesday.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/inclusive-dialog-needed-to-end-aceh-conflict-1447893297",
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