'Set time frame for dialog with Aceh separatists'<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A noted religious leader urged the government on Friday to press
\nahead with peace talks with Aceh separatists, but asked it to set
\na specific time frame.<\/p>\n
Ahmad Syafii Ma'arif, a member of an independent team made up
\nof five prominent public figures, who is also the chairman of the
\ncountry's second largest Muslim organization, Muhammadyah, also
\nsaid peace talks with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) must be held
\nwithin the framework of the unitary state of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"I agree with Zinni's point of view, but I insist that peace
\ntalks between the two parties must be based on clear rules of the
\ngame, including the agenda and time frame,\" Syafii said.<\/p>\n
Retired United States general Anthony Zinni, an advisor to the
\nSwitzerland-based non-governmental organization the Henry Dunant
\nCentre (HDC), said after a three-day visit to Aceh on Thursday
\nthat dialog might be difficult but \"both parties should not be
\ndiscouraged.\"<\/p>\n
Syafii said the Acehnese were already tired of the conflict,
\nwhile GAM had been making unclear demands. \"So, this is the time
\nfor us to launch a dialog with them (the Acehnese and GAM),\" he
\nasserted.<\/p>\n
Commenting on the calls for dialog, Army Chief of Staff Gen.
\nRyamizard Ryacudu said: \"I leave the dialog to the government,
\nbut as a TNI member, I know better than these people on how to
\nhandle the security situation in Aceh.\"<\/p>\n
\"For me, no more dialog ... the rebellion has to be crushed,\"
\nRyamizard told reporters at Army headquarters.<\/p>\n
Syafi'i, along with noted Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid,
\nformer foreign minister Ali Alatas, former minister of home
\naffairs Surjadi Soedirdja, and former member of the Indonesian
\nCouncil of Ulemas (MUI) Ali Yafie, set up an independent team to
\nlook for a suitable, peaceful solution to the Aceh question.<\/p>\n
Syafii said they had advised the government against imposing a
\nstate of emergency there.<\/p>\n
The government had originally planned to introduce a new,
\ntougher policy on Aceh on Aug. 5, including the sending of 4,000
\nreinforcement troops to the province to back up the 21,000
\nalready deployed there, but decided to delay it until Aug. 19.<\/p>\n
Syafi'i said his team had submitted its recommendations to
\nboth Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs
\nSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the Indonesian Military (TNI) chief
\nGen. Endriartono Sutarto.<\/p>\n
\"They accepted the proposal and promised not to impose a state
\nof emergency in Aceh,\" Syafi'i told The Jakarta Post by telephone
\non Friday.<\/p>\n
\"The government should not repeat its past mistake when it
\ndeclared the province to be a military operation area,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In a bid to quell the secessionist movement, former president
\nSoeharto declared Aceh a military operations area (DOM) in 1989,
\na status that was only lifted in 1999 by Soeharto's successor
\nB.J. Habibie. Thousands of innocent Acehnese were believed to
\nhave been killed or tortured during that period.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/set-time-frame-for-dialog-with-aceh-separatists-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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