A different perspective

A different perspective

Soegih Arto asks why should the Indonesian government conduct
peace talks with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), and then lists his
personal objections (The Jakarta Post. Feb. 15).

Soegih Arto is to be congratulated for the consistency of his
perspective, if not his commitment to peace.

There are always two sides to every conflict, and GAM -- and
many others in Aceh -- believe they have legitimate grievances
against Indonesia generally and the Indonesian Military (TNI) in
particular. Reports of TNI atrocities in Aceh continue, even in
the post-tsunami period. Is it any wonder that so many Acehnese
feel alienated from Indonesia?

The Helsinki peace talks, however, are intended to try to
overcome this lack of trust, hopefully by arriving at a
negotiated political outcome. That outcome might be within the
existing "special autonomy" framework. But if negotiations are to
have any meaning, the resolution might also consider something
other than the status quo.

Soegih Arto thinks such talks should be held within Indonesia.
The problem here is the lack of guarantee of safety. Five GAM
negotiators who tried this were arrested, one of whom recently
died in prison. That is also why the GAM leadership continues to
live abroad.

If Soegih Arto sees the GAM leadership living abroad as an
insult to Indonesia, one can only wonder at what he thinks
about GAM fighters taking up weapons against Indonesia!

Claiming that the issue of Aceh is Indonesia's "domestic
affair" is one perspective. But GAM claims Aceh's independence
was stolen by the Dutch and illegally transferred to Indonesia.
Because there is disagreement on this is why talks must be
mediated by an outside organization. Similarly, downgrading
the delegation to the talks would indicate that the Indonesian
government does not take the talks seriously.

Fortunately, it seems these talks are indeed being taken
seriously. This, along with a willingness to compromise, could
potentially produce a negotiated settlement. I agree with Soegih
Arto that such a settlement remains a long shot. But unlike him,
I believe it is worth at least trying.

DAMIEN KINGSBURY, Melbourne