Lemhanas slams Helsinki talks<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas) has criticized the
\ninformal talks between the government and the Free Aceh Movement
\n(GAM), urging the exclusion of foreign parties and saying the
\nsteps taken so far are unconstitutional.<\/p>\n
Lemhanas Governor Ermaya Suradinata said on Monday the talks
\nhad crossed the line to become unconstitutional, with rebel group
\nGAM wishing to establish a self-governing territory and a
\nseparate mechanism to govern the economy of the resource-rich
\nprovince.<\/p>\n
"I think the government should reconsider (pursuing) more
\ntalks, as this could give GAM the chance to internationalize the
\nissue," he told legislators at a meeting with House of
\nRepresentatives Commission I for defense and foreign affairs.<\/p>\n
He said the talks, held in Finland's capital of Helsinki,
\nshould be held in Indonesia, as the issue was between the
\nIndonesian government and its citizens.<\/p>\n
"The Helsinki talks have also helped sustain the rebels'
\nposition in the eyes of the international (community), the
\nEuropean Union in particular, especially after the acquittal of
\ntheir top brass by a court in Sweden for terror and separatism
\ncharges," said Ermaya.<\/p>\n
The government and GAM have engaged in four rounds of talk
\nover the course of the year in a bid to end decades-long armed
\nconflict in the province, after the rebels launched a pro-
\nindependence movement in the 1970s, which has killed over 12,000
\npeople.<\/p>\n
Both parties have said that most issues blocking peace have
\nbeen settled, except the major ones concerning Aceh's
\nadministrative status and a GAM demand to set up a local
\npolitical party.<\/p>\n
The talks were facilitated by the Helsinki-based Crisis
\nManagement Initiative (CMI), with GAM representatives including
\nseveral foreigners.<\/p>\n
Legislators have slammed the latest round of talks for failing
\nto arrive at a final agreement, and forced the government to
\nquickly impose a deadline for the conclusion of the talks.<\/p>\n
They also criticized the inclusion of more foreign parties in
\nthe talks, a complaint that has apparently fallen on deaf ears.<\/p>\n
The government said the fifth round of talks would commence on
\nJuly 12, stressing that the talks were informal by nature and no
\noutcomes were as yet legally binding.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, about 50 people rallied outside the House of
\nRepresentatives to protest the House's objection to the peace
\ntalks in Helsinki.<\/p>\n
They said the talks were producing significant results, and
\nthe inclusion of foreign parties in such a negotiation was not
\nunusual.<\/p>\n
The demonstrators urged both parties to suspend active
\nhostilities for the duration of the talks, particularly as the
\nprovince is struggling to establish normalcy after being
\ndevastated by last year's tsunami that killed over 128,000
\nAcehnese.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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