RI, GAM ready to resume talks, focus on autonomy<\/p>\n
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government is ready to resume peace talks with Free Aceh
\nMovement (GAM) rebel leaders after they agreed negotiations
\nshould focus on the government's offer for special autonomy, a
\nsenior minister says.<\/p>\n
However, a GAM leader said while the separatists were prepared
\nto start the dialog by discussing the autonomy offer, they had
\nalready rejected it.<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security
\nAffairs Widodo Adi Sucipto said a high-level delegation would fly
\nto Finland's capital of Helsinki on Saturday and start talks on
\nMonday.<\/p>\n
The government said it expects progress from the second round
\nof peace talks, which will be facilitated by the Crisis
\nManagement Initiative (CMI), a global mediator headed by former
\npresident of Finland Martti Ahtisaari.<\/p>\n
\"We have received confirmation (from the CMI) that the talks
\nwill revolve around the special autonomy. We do hope for
\nconcrete progress,\" Widodo said on Friday after a limited Cabinet
\nmeeting at the Presidential Office.<\/p>\n
Widodo reiterated that Jakarta was seeking \"a permanent and
\ncomprehensive\" settlement rather than a temporary solution to the
\nIndonesian Military-GAM conflict in Aceh, which first began in
\n1976.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian delegation will include Minister of Justice and
\nHuman Rights Hamid Awaluddin as the chief negotiator; along with
\nMinister of Communications and Information Sofyan Djalil and
\nother state officials, while Widodo would oversee the delegation.<\/p>\n
The same group earlier held talks with the GAM leaders in
\nHelsinki in January but came out with no long-term results. At
\nthat time GAM was only interested in establishing a temporary
\ncease fire in Aceh to ensure effective humanitarian relief
\noperations in the tsunami-hit province.<\/p>\n
Asked whether GAM had indicated its willingness to accept the
\nspecial autonomy scheme, Widodo said: \"We'll talk the details
\nthere. But the confirmation (from the mediator) makes us expect
\nmore concrete results (from the second-round meeting).\"<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Sofyan, who is an Aceh native, said that positive
\nresults from the coming peace talks would be crucial for the
\nlong-term reconstruction and development of Aceh, which bore the
\nbrunt of the Asian tsunami where more than 200,000 people were
\nkilled or remained missing.<\/p>\n
\"We need to talk to all the Acehnese when we rebuild Aceh,
\nincluding to our GAM brothers. Any settlement of the conflict
\nwould be beneficial for the development of a new and better
\nAceh,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Both the government and GAM had earlier agreed to a temporary
\ncease fire plan via the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement signed
\nin 2002.<\/p>\n
That truce broke down in 2003 and the government later imposed
\nmartial law in the province and undertook a large-scale military
\noffensive against GAM rebels.<\/p>\n
Rights groups have accused the military of killing many
\ncivilians and of committing other human rights abuses during the
\noffensive.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a GAM delegation member Noerdin Abdulhamid said
\nthat the group was ready to talk with the Indonesian delegation,
\nbut insisted that they would not accept the special autonomy
\noffer.<\/p>\n
\"We have received the invitation (sent by the CMI) and know
\nthat the meeting will begin by discussing the special autonomy
\nfor Aceh, but we have no intention of accepting the concept,\"
\nNoerdin told The Jakarta Post by phone from Sweden.<\/p>\n
Noerdin said that the GAM delegation, to be led by GAM's prime
\nminister for Aceh Malik Mahmood, had other points on their
\nagenda, including an offer of a cease-fire.<\/p>\n
Other GAM members set to attend the meeting are Aceh's shadow
\nforeign minister Zaini Abdullah, along with GAM senior official
\nMohammed Nur Djuli and spokesman Bakhtiar Abdullah.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-gam-ready-to-resume-talks-focus-on-autonomy-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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