No more talks with GAM, says minister<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Defense Mahfud MD said on Wednesday
\nthere would be no further negotiations with the separatist Free
\nAceh Movement (GAM) after the expiration of a humanitarian pause
\non Jan. 15.<\/p>\n
Mahfud maintained the government would only negotiate with
\n\"Aceh (community) figures\", and if GAM representatives wished to
\ncontinue talks they must do so in this context.<\/p>\n
\"After Jan. 15 there will be no more negotiations with GAM,\"
\nMahfud said after attending a ceremony at the State Place to
\ninaugurate Taufik as deputy chief of the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
His comments came on the heels of President Abdurrahman
\nWahid's brief visit to the troubled province on Tuesday, during
\nwhich he pledged a more peaceful approach to resolving the Aceh
\nissue, within the context of the unitary state of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
During the visit, Abdurrahman also signaled that talks between
\nthe government and GAM would continue despite the end of the
\nhumanitarian pause in January.<\/p>\n
Mahfud claimed on Wednesday the government had been in talks
\nwith Acehnese community figures who wished to remain anonymous.<\/p>\n
The minister said that in this context, GAM representatives
\ncould participate in the talks.<\/p>\n
The Humanitarian Pause, which was signed in Geneva in May and
\nextended for three months in September, will not be extended
\nagain, Mahfud asserted. He did not touch on the possibility of
\nthe resumption of military operations in the province.<\/p>\n
When it extended the accord in September, the government said
\nit was doing so on the condition that substantive talks begin on
\nresolving the problems in the province under the context of Aceh
\nremaining part of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
In Stockholm, GAM separatist leader Tengku Hasan di Tiro said
\ntalks with Indonesian officials were set to resume next week.<\/p>\n
\"I will be in Geneva next week, there are very many things
\ngoing on there,\" he said as quoted by AFP.<\/p>\n
Hasan di Tiro said he would not personally meet with any
\nIndonesian officials, but \"somebody from my organization will
\nmeet with them next week in Geneva\".<\/p>\n
He declined to elaborate on the substance of the planned
\ndiscussions.<\/p>\n
Commenting on Abdurrahman's visit to the province, he said
\nthere was \"not at all\" a chance it would help stabilize the
\nsituation there.<\/p>\n
\"The problem is Indonesia,\" he said. \"Indonesia is not a
\ncountry at all, it is the empire of the Dutch.\"<\/p>\n
Sooner or later, Indonesia is bound to break up \"because the
\npeople ... want to go their separate ways\", he said. \"We want to
\ngo our way.\"<\/p>\n
On the likelihood the humanitarian pause would not be
\nreextended, he said \"we will see if there is a big war\" after the
\nagreement expires next month.<\/p>\n
Kopassus<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Saleh Saaf
\nsaid on Wednesday Mobile Brigade (Brimob) personnel were being
\ntrained by the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) for guerrilla
\noperations against rebels.<\/p>\n
\"The training of the Brimob personnel in guerrilla tactics has
\nbeen limited to law enforcement operations, not combat operations
\nagainst armed groups who employ good guerrilla techniques,\" Saleh
\nsaid at National Police Headquarters.<\/p>\n
Saleh has repeatedly said a military operation was necessary
\nto overcome GAM. \"The separatist movement in Aceh is already so
\nstrong.\"<\/p>\n
\"But it still depends on the government's decision since we
\ncan't insist that a military operation be undertaken. That's why
\nwe are training our Brimob personnel.\"<\/p>\n
The training is taking place at Brimob headquarters in Kelapa
\nDua, Bogor.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile in Banda Aceh, violence again flared, claiming the
\nlives of nine people in separate incidents.<\/p>\n
North Aceh Police spokesman Asst. Supt. Abdi Darmawan said
\nlocals found seven bodies and a seriously injured man on
\nWednesday morning at separate locations where GAM rebels had
\nallegedly operated on Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n
Three of the bodies, including that of police Sgt. Maj. Imam
\nSubagyo, were found in three separate locations in Cot Gapu
\nvillage, Jeumpa district. Two of the victims had their throats
\nslit.<\/p>\n
Four other bodies, bearing shot wounds, were found in Pulo
\nBaro village, Samalanga district, Abdi said.<\/p>\n
He added that residents of Bugeng village, Peudada district,
\nfound a man lying in the street in critical condition.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the deputy spokesman of the Cinta Meunasah police
\noperation, Supt. Yatim Suyatmo, said a police officer, identified
\nas Pvt. Rusliniddun, was shot to death by a rebel in Blang
\nvillage, East Langsa district, East Aceh, on Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n
\"He was buying cigarettes at a kiosk when a rebel fired three
\nshots at him, killing him on the spot,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In another location, Suyatmo said a man he claimed to be a GAM
\nrebel was killed during a gunfight in Kuta Lawah village, Idi
\ndistrict, East Aceh.<\/p>\n
\"Police officers were conducting a routine patrol when their
\nvehicle was ambushed by GAM rebels, leading to a gunfight.\"<\/p>\n
However, residents of the village said the deceased was a
\npublic transportation driver who was shot and killed by police
\non Tuesday afternoon during a heated dispute that also involved
\nthree other drivers. (50\/lup\/jaw)<\/p>",
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