Negotiation the only option for settling Aceh question<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Negotiation has emerged as the only option for the government to
\nresolve the Aceh question after provincial councillors rejected
\nthe imposition of either a civil emergency or martial law there.<\/p>\n
Former president Abdurrahman \"Gus Dur\" Wahid on Thursday urged
\nthe government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to return to the
\nnegotiation table, stressing that negotiation was the only way to
\nput an end to the bloody conflict in Aceh.<\/p>\n
\"The best solution to the Aceh question is negotiation,\" Gus
\nDur said when asked to comment on the possibility of imposing a
\nstate of emergency in Aceh, where GAM has been fighting for an
\nindependent state since the 1970s.<\/p>\n
The administration of President Megawati Soekarnoputri is
\nconsidering imposing either a civil emergency or martial law in
\nAceh as armed clashes between government troops and GAM members
\nhave risen sharply.<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs
\nSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono had been sent to Aceh to assess whether
\nor not the situation there warranted the imposition of a civil
\nemergency or martial law in the province.<\/p>\n
Susilo has been holding a series of meetings with provincial
\ncouncillors, non-governmental organizations, and security
\npersonnel, since his arrival there last Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Aceh councillors told Susilo on Wednesday that they did not
\nwant the central government to impose either a civil emergency or
\nmartial law in the troubled province.<\/p>\n
According to Gus Dur, the military was to blame for the rising
\nviolence in Aceh.<\/p>\n
\"It is the fault of the military itself. Who is killing people
\nin Aceh now?\" Gus Dur asked provocatively.<\/p>\n
Political observer Rizal Sukma from the Centre for Strategic
\nand International Studies (CSIS) said on Thursday that dialog was
\nthe only solution to end the conflict in Aceh.<\/p>\n
\"To make the dialog meaningful a monitoring body should be set
\nup to ensure the implementation of agreements in the field,\" said
\nRizal, adding that the absence of such an agency rendered the
\nGeneva agreements useless.<\/p>\n
During peace talks in Geneva in May, the government and GAM
\nrebels agreed \"to work with all speed on an agreement on the
\ncessation of hostilities with an adequate mechanism for
\naccountability of the parties to such an agreement\".<\/p>\n
Both parties also agreed that an autonomy package offered by
\nthe government for the province could be a starting point for
\nnegotiations on a political settlement.<\/p>\n
\"In the coming talks, there is an agenda to stop all violence
\nby 2002 and a mechanism to enforce the agreement in Aceh. We have
\nto pursue the arrangement,\" Rizal said.<\/p>\n
He also called for prosecution of military personnel
\nresponsible for human rights violations during the 1989-1998
\nmilitary operation in the province.<\/p>\n
\"Many Acehnese want to see justice served but so far there is
\nno assurance that those perpetrators will be punished,\" said
\nRizal, adding that there should be no impunity for military
\npersonnel.<\/p>\n
In Banda Aceh, Susilo said on Wednesday evening that three
\nthings needed to be taken into account in settling problems in
\nthe province.<\/p>\n
\"These are: improving the effectivity of peace restoration
\noperations, improving the economic welfare of the people, and
\nredesigning the form of the dialog between the government and GAM
\nif dialog is still considered necessary,\" Susilo said without
\nelaborating.<\/p>\n
Asked about the neutrality of the Henry Dunant Centre (HDC),
\nSusilo said the centre had so far tended to take GAM's side
\nrather than the government's side.<\/p>\n
He noted, after an armed clash takes place between the two
\nsides, the centre always justifies what GAM has done.<\/p>\n
\"And thus the role of HDC as facilitator and mediator (of the
\ndialog between the government and GAM) will be reviewed,\" he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
He also said that many foreign non-governmental organizations
\noperating in Aceh in cooperation with local NGOs were against the
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
\"It indicates that these NGOs tend to take sides with GAM. We
\ndo not reject them, but (we only hope) they won't take sides,\" he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
Aceh has been facing the separatist movement for more than 25
\nyears, during which thousands of people have been killed. Last
\nyear, more than 1,600 people were killed in Aceh, including
\nrebels, civilians and security personnel.<\/p>\n
The government has granted oil-rich Aceh special autonomy
\nstatus, which gives the province greater powers to manage its own
\naffairs, including the authority to implement syariah (Islamic
\nlaw).<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/negotiation-the-only-option-for-settling-aceh-question-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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