Mega supports peaceful means for Aceh<\/p>\n
BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): In her first visit here since taking
\noffice last month, President Megawati Soekarnoputri publicly
\nasked on Saturday for forgiveness from all Acehnese for the
\ngovernment's past mistakes and promised to resolve the decades-
\nlong problem in a peaceful way.<\/p>\n
\"I know that the central government made mistakes in the past.
\nPersonally and on behalf of the government, I would like to ask
\nfor your forgiveness,\" Megawati, who wore a blue dress and a
\nblack head scarf, told a gathering of about 2,000 people in the
\ngrounds of the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque here.<\/p>\n
She asked the Acehnese not to look back to the past, but to
\nconcentrate on the future.<\/p>\n
\"If we only look at the past, we will never make progress in
\nour lives,\" she said in her 15-minute off-the-cuff speech.<\/p>\n
Megawati asked the Acehnese to accept the Nanggroe Aceh
\nDarussalam autonomy law that grants the Acehnese 70 percent of
\nthe province's oil and gas revenues, and gives them more freedom
\nto manage their own affairs.<\/p>\n
The President promised that the government would rebuild all
\nruined facilities in the province, but in return she asked the
\nAcehnese to maintain the facilities and end all clashes.<\/p>\n
She noted the importance of establishing peace and order in
\nthe troubled province.<\/p>\n
\"We must share a common perception that we will settle (the
\nAceh problem) without violence,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Half way through her speech, a youth suddenly stood up and
\nraised his hand to interrupt her.<\/p>\n
Megawati, however, asked the young man to sit down.<\/p>\n
\"I am a guest in this Rencong land (Aceh). If you were on a
\nvisit, would you be willing to be treated impolitely?<\/p>\n
\"Even Allah has ordained that everybody should receive their
\nguests in a proper manner ... I hope the people of Aceh can do
\nthat,\" she said.<\/p>\n
The President was booed several times during the speech, and
\nshe had to repeat her remarks that the people of Aceh should show
\nrespect for their guests.<\/p>\n
\"Today, I have such a short visit here. But, in the future,
\nwhen all Acehnese can sincerely welcome any guest visiting the
\nprovince, I will visit more often,\" she promised.<\/p>\n
Student activist Alfian Lukman, head of the Student Executive
\nBody at the Ar-Raniry State Institute of Islamic Studies (IAIN),
\nsaid he yelled at Megawati because students were barred from
\ntaking part in a earlier closed dialog with her at Governor
\nAbdullah Puteh's residence.<\/p>\n
\"I wanted to tell Megawati to pull the troops out of Aceh,
\nbecause only that way can the violence be stopped,\" he told
\nreporters. \"But I was not given a chance to convey my message.\"<\/p>\n
Later in the day, students, joined by other activists from
\nvarious organizations, called a press conference at the offices
\nof the Aceh branch of the Indonesian Journalists Association
\n(PWI) to convey their demands.<\/p>\n
They demanded that the government revive stalled talks with
\nGAM, with intermediation from an international organization, hold
\na referendum, try human rights violators, stop terror being
\nperpetrated against the Acehnese, and free Acehnese political
\nprisoners.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, IAIN Ar-Raniry rector Rusydi Ali Muhammad, who
\nattended the closed door meeting with Megawati, said Megawati's
\nvisit should be followed up by concrete measures to resolve the
\nAceh problem.<\/p>\n
\"What's important is how the government can regain the trust
\nof the Acehnese. That will depend on the concrete measures to be
\ntaken up in the future, and not on the promises,\" he said.<\/p>\n
But he refused to disclose what Megawati said during the talks
\nat Puteh's residence.<\/p>\n
During Megawati's visit, Banda Aceh was heavily guarded with
\narmored vehicles and dozens of armed soldiers standing guard just
\noutside the mosque. It was also reported that sharpshooters were
\nstationed on a nearby tower and at several city junctions. Police
\nofficers, armed with rifles, were seen in almost every corner of
\nthe city.<\/p>\n
Banda Aceh was half deserted as most people preferred to stay
\ninside their houses during the President's six-hour visit as many
\nfeared that violence could break out in the provincial capital
\nfollowing Thursday's broad-daylight assassination of Syiah Kuala
\nUniversity rector Dayan Dawood.<\/p>\n
Megawati is the third President to visit the restive province
\nin the past three years.<\/p>\n
Former president B.J. Habibie made a two-hour visit on March
\n26, 1999, and former president Abdurrahman Wahid paid a three-
\nhour visit on Dec. 19, 2000. Unlike Megawati, who refused to take
\nquestions, both Habibie and Abdurrahman held a dialog with the
\nAcehnese at the Grand Mosque. (dja\/50\/imn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/mega-supports-peaceful-means-for-aceh-1447893297",
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