Bloody attack undermines dialog on Aceh issue

Bloody attack undermines dialog on Aceh issue

Ibnu Mat Noor, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

The planned dialog between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the
Indonesian government have been put in limbo, following the
bloody assault last Thursday that injured two police officers.

GAM spokesman Tengku Sofyan Daud told The Jakarta Post that
GAM had not yet received confirmation from the government whether
the peace talks previously scheduled for last month in Geneva,
Switzerland, would be held this month or not.

"It's no problem for us if the Indonesian government
unilaterally decides to cancel it. The most important thing is
that we are ready to respond to what it will decide on Aceh's
fate. We have our own plan," he said.

Adj. Sr. Comr. Sunardi and his adjutant are still undergoing
treatment at Gleneagles Hospital in Medan, the capital of North
Sumatra, after receiving serious gunshot wounds to the head and
back.

National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar has called on the
government to withdraw from the planned peace talks following the
attack on a motorcade carrying Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh in
North Aceh on Thursday.

No date has been set for the September talks after the
government postponed the planned one last month.

Rebel negotiator Teuku Kumarujaman said the government had
already postponed the talks once this month, and had not
contacted the rebels to discuss a new date.

Despite this, Kumarujaman said he was "still optimistic that
the meeting would go ahead."

At least 12,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed
since the clash between GAM and the government's security forces
began in 1976, including about 850 this year.

Rebels are demanding independence. They have rejected a
government offer of greater autonomy and a greater revenue share
from the province's oil and natural gas reserves.

The government has set a deadline of early December for GAM to
decide whether it will go to the negotiating table and accept the
special autonomy the government has offered.

Meanwhile, hundreds of security personnel from the local
military and police are still searching for the gunmen
responsible for last Thursday's attack, said Insp. Gen. Yusuf
Manggabarani, chief of the Aceh Provincial Police.

"We will keep searching for them but will not violate existing
directives or standing orders," he told the media after leading
an operation to crack down on marijuana trafficking in Pulau
Aceh, Aceh Besar district.

Manggabarani said no police or military reinforcements would
be sent to the region to assist in the search for the
perpetrators of the attack.

"We will only increase the effectiveness of existing security
forces in the region," he said.