Aceh's Puteh promotes peace talk agreement

Aceh's Puteh promotes peace talk agreement

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Governor Abdullah Puteh held a closed-
door meeting with activists of the Aceh Referendum Information
Center (SIRA) in Medan, North Sumatra on Thursday to familiarize
them with the outcome of the peace talks in Geneva.

SIRA activist Fuady Sony said after the meeting on Thursday
that Puteh and his staff organized the meeting to explain the
points reached in the agreement made during peace talks between
the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) on May 8 and May
9 in Geneva, Switzerland.

However, Puteh denied that the meeting was organized to
promote the Geneva agreement, arguing that the Aceh
administration had not received any official notice on it.

"We learned the outcome of the peace talks from the media but
we have not received any official notice from the central
government," Puteh said.

According to the governor, he and his staff met with Acehnese
students affiliated with SIRA in Medan to talk about the
government and developments in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD).

"We did not talk with SIRA, but with Acehnese students. We
discussed the government and developments in Nanggroe Aceh
Darussalam," Puteh said.

According to Fuady, SIRA activists told Governor Puteh in the
meeting that they rejected the special autonomy deal offered by
the central government and demanded a referendum to settle the
Aceh conflict once and for all.

The government and GAM negotiators agreed to a cease-fire in
the peace talks held on May 8 and May 9 in Geneva to end the
decades of bloodshed in the restive province. They also
reaffirmed their commitment to adopt the special autonomy
arrangement as the basis for future negotiations.

Fuady said SIRA as an institution, which consists of some 120
pro-referendum elements, refused to accept the special autonomy
package as it did not represent the people's aspirations.

"The Acehnese want the current conflict to be settled once and
for all through a referendum," said Fuady, adding that SIRA would
continue fighting for a referendum as demanded by the Acehnese
during a meeting held on Sept. 8, 1999.

"The autonomy issue is an old one. Aceh has been declared a
special autonomous region, but there's nothing special about
that. What is special about Aceh is that it has turned into a
killing field," Fuady said.

Hundreds of innocent people have been killed since January as
armed encounters between the Indonesian Military (TNI) and GAM
fighters have continued unabated.

SIRA urged the government to declare a cease-fire in the
troubled province and invite foreign mediators to monitor it.

"I think what is important now is a cease-fire," Fuady said
after the meeting.

According to Fuady, it was high time for TNI and GAM to
declare a cease-fire as "the Acehnese are tired of the continuing
violence and the protracted conflict" in the country's
westernmost province.

Puteh also expressed concern over the abduction of nine female
Acehnese students by unidentified men recently, saying that the
government could not tolerate any violence in the province.

"It is a pity that the students were kidnapped. The students
want to study," said Puteh, adding that students should not be
exploited in the conflict.

"We appeal to all of those involved to realize that kidnapping
is not good for the future of Aceh or the future of the
Acehnese," he said.