Aceh peace given last chance

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Negotiators from Indonesia and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) have left for Tokyo to give peace one last chance, although a senior official said there was little hope the meeting would revive a faltering peace process.

Negotiating teams from both sides headed for Tokyo on Friday, a day after Indonesia bowed to international pressure to delay military operations in Aceh and to meet with GAM one more time.

If successful the talks could avert the collapse of a five- month old peace process under the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA) signed last December.

Unlike the December talks which were brokered by the Henry Dunant Centre, the weekend dialog will be facilitated by the Japanese government.

Coordinating Minister for Security and Political Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said preparations for military operations in Aceh were complete and that the government had secured the support of the House of Representatives for the operations.

"The last opportunity to resolve the Aceh problem peacefully will be the meeting in Tokyo on May 17," Susilo said after meeting with senior ministers and security officials on Friday night.

Susilo expressed his disappointment with the COHA, which he said had been misinterpreted by GAM as a stepping-stone toward an independent Aceh.

To revive the COHA, he said, GAM must accept Indonesia's sovereignty over Aceh, special autonomy for the province, lay down its weapons and cease all armed separatist activities.

"However, the chances are slim that they will meet (these conditions)," Susilo told reporters.

A presidential decree authorizing war has been prepared and Susilo said it could be signed as soon as the outcome of the meeting was known.

The planned meeting in Tokyo already hit a snag with the arrest on Friday of five GAM negotiators as they were about to leave Aceh.

National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said the five men had not been allowed to leave Aceh because they could be linked to a series of terrorist strikes.

He said police had yet to receive confirmation from the Henry Dunant Centre, which mediated the COHA, that the five would indeed attend the meeting in Tokyo.

Exiled GAM leaders in Sweden deplored the detention of the five, however they said they remained committed to the Tokyo talks.

"We will go anyway but if our delegation from Aceh does not attend the talks will be stalled," GAM delegation leader Mahmood Malik was quoted as saying by Reuters in Stockholm before boarding a plane for Tokyo.

Also in Stockholm, GAM's chief negotiator, Zaini Abdullah, said the group would go to Tokyo but would refuse to attend the talks unless the five negotiators were released, AFP reported.

The planned meeting in Tokyo follows last-minute international diplomatic efforts to revive the peace deal.

Sources told The Jakarta Post that President Megawati Soekarnoputri received calls from United Nations Secretary- General Kofi Annan on Tuesday night and U.S. President George W. Bush earlier on Sunday. Both expressed their concerns over war plans in Aceh.

Megawati delayed signing a presidential decree authorizing military operations after a two-week deadline for GAM to accept the preconditions for continuing the peace process passed last Monday.

Megawati's decision to return to the negotiating table won praise from President Bush.

But she is walking a fine line. The President must fend off the military, which has been pressing for war and on whose support she counts for next year's elections.

"We will go ahead with our plan to launch a joint operation, including the military operation, but we once again open the opportunity to engage in a dialog (with GAM)," the President said after a consultation meeting with the House of Representatives on Thursday.

Legislators have already thrown their support behind military operations, reducing the risk of a political backlash if Megawati goes ahead with the war.

Indonesia plans to send up to 50,000 troops to Aceh, which would give the soldiers an about 10 to one numerical advantage over the rebels. About 38,000 soldiers have been deployed to the province already, which some observers say is sufficient for launching a military operation at anytime.

The scale of the operation would exceed any military operation in Indonesia for decades.

GAM has been fighting for independence in the natural resource-rich province since 1976 in a war that has claimed more than 10,000 lives, mainly those of civilians.

However, much will rest on whether GAM will accept Indonesia's sovereignty over Aceh during the Tokyo meeting.

The rebels have little if any international support, with even Sweden dissuading GAM from seeking independence.

Last month's failure to hold a Joint Council meeting was largely blamed on GAM's refusal to attend because of trivial concerns.

This time around GAM has already backed down on its initial demand that the talks be held in either Sweden or Switzerland, agreeing on Tokyo for the venue.