Wiranto rejects dialog proposal with Aceh's GAM<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Wiranto
\nruled out on Thursday the possibility of initiating a dialog with
\nmembers of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM), saying their
\ndemand for independence was unrealistic.<\/p>\n
\"The demand for Aceh's independence is unrealistic, and the
\ngovernment and the military will not hold dialogs with groups
\nmaking such a demand,\" he said after speaking at a meeting of the
\nGolkar affiliated SOKSI organization at Hotel Indonesia.<\/p>\n
He said he would only hold dialogs which had realistic aims
\nwith Acehnese people, the government, the legislative council and
\nthe House of Representatives.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights Marzuki
\nDarusman said last week the government should recognize and open
\na dialog with GAM to reduce tension in the troubled province,
\nwhere hundreds have been killed over the past few months.<\/p>\n
Marzuki said \"if the military was not able to hold a dialog
\nwith GAM, then they should allow other agencies or leaders of
\nAcehnese people to conduct a dialog\".<\/p>\n
Separately, the rights commission's secretary-general,
\nClementino dos Reis Amaral, expressed pessimism that the team
\nrecently established by President B.J. Habibie to investigate
\npast human rights abuses in Aceh, would be able to thoroughly
\nsettle the matter.<\/p>\n
Rights activists have said the team has been authorized to be
\na fact-finding mission only, and therefore would not be capable
\nof prosecuting alleged human rights perpetrators in the province.<\/p>\n
Soldiers have been accused of widespread human rights abuses
\nduring a decade of anti-rebel operations in Aceh which was halted
\nlast year.<\/p>\n
However, since early this year, Aceh has seen a sharp
\nresurgence in violence between soldiers and suspected rebels.<\/p>\n
At least 223 people have been killed in clashes since May.
\nHundreds of buildings, including schools, have also been set on
\nfire, and more than 145,000 people have fled to mosques, schools
\nand government offices in fear of anti-rebel operations in their
\nvillages.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, despite efforts to send refugees home and a new
\npolice operation to enhance security, Pidie residents continue to
\nflee their villages.<\/p>\n
Residents from Tiro district on the slopes of a mountainous
\narea on Thursday followed the example of locals from Meurudu,
\nUlim and Bandar Dua, who fled over the past three days.<\/p>\n
According to the Sigli student post, excluding this week's
\nexodus, the latest estimate of the number of refugees in Pidie
\nalone was 70,000.<\/p>\n
Ridarantau, a student volunteer in Banda Aceh, said on
\nThursday if the refugees did not return soon, \"we fear food
\nshortages will hit Aceh\". He was referring to the fact that many
\nof the refugees were farmers.<\/p>\n
Fearing the possibility of theft from the vacant villages,
\nfishermen from Meurudu have brought their boat engines to the
\nrefugee camps.<\/p>\n
In response to reports that refugees were beginning to return
\nhome, student volunteers in Sigli, the capital of Pidie, said
\nvillagers were refusing to return before Aug. 17. The volunteers
\nsaid there were rumors that separatists would remove Indonesian
\nflags on the commemoration of Independence Day and carry out
\nother forms of intimidation.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, some 100 Acehnese students staged on Thursday a
\nprotest in front of the Ministry of Defense in Jakarta. They
\ndemanded the military pull out from the province and an end to
\nviolence in their homeland.<\/p>\n
They also demanded the alleged human rights perpetrators be
\nbrought to court.<\/p>\n
Police have said that some 5,000 troops and police will be
\nsent to Aceh to reinforce some 6,000 local police in a new six
\nmonth-long offensive to crush the suspected rebels.
\n(51\/anr\/byg\/rms)<\/p>",
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