Acehnese civilians to meet in Sweden
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Ahead of talks that it is hoped will seal an enduring peace in tsunami-devastated Aceh at the end of this month, a group of civilians born in Aceh will meet with leaders of GAM, which has been fighting for an independent state at the northern tip of Sumatra.
The meeting is being arranged by the Sweden-based Olof Palme International Center in Stockholm to help the voices of Acehnese people from around the world be heard.
Damien Kingsbury, a political advisor to the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and a lecturer at Australia's Deakin University, said on Tuesday that he hoped the meeting would result in mutual understanding between GAM and Acehnese civilians, and for their common interests to be brought to the negotiating table in Helsinki, where talks are scheduled to begin on May 26.
"It is normal for everybody to discuss ideas. In the case of Aceh, the views of Aceh civil society should be included in any possible peace agreement. Their voice is very important," Kingsbury told The Jakarta Post by phone.
Although refusing to call the meeting secretive, Kingsbury declined to give the time and venue of the meeting.
"This is a very sensitive issue. We are worried about the behavior of the Indonesian Military (TNI) once they know about the meeting. Well, you know there has been a continuation of the torture, rape and arson in Aceh," he said.
He confirmed that representatives of GAM's political wing would attend the meeting.
"Both the secessionist movement and Acehnese civilians should consult with each other and listen to each other as much as possible," he said.
Following the Dec. 26 tsunami, the Indonesian government and GAM have been involved in a series of informal talks in Helsinki.
A coalition of non-governmental organizations grouped under the Aceh Working Group (AWG) praised the proposed Stockholm meeting, saying the separatist movement had left the Indonesian government far behind in designing a workable peace strategy for Aceh.
They also criticized the government's policy of not renewing the state of civil emergency in Aceh without pulling out its troops from the province.
"The military presence in Aceh should be aimed at carrying out non-combat operations, instead of launching offensive operations there. Any offensive policy will only prevent civilians from participating in the peace process," sociologist Otto Syamsuddin Ishak from Syah Kuala University said.
The Olof Palme Center was established in 1992 by the Swedish Social Democratic Party, trade union confederation (LO) and the cooperative union (KF).
It works on several issues, including the promotion of democracy and human rights, and develops projects in, among other places, the developing countries and in Central and Eastern Europe.