Civil emergency rejected in Aceh

Civil emergency rejected in Aceh

Nani Farida and Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post,
Banda Aceh/Jakarta

Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh joined forces with the provincial
legislative council, clerics and non-governmental organizations
to oppose the imposition of a civil emergency in Aceh, saying
that conflict resolution should be entrusted to the provincial
administration.

Speaking before local officials and clerics in Montasik, Aceh
Besar, on Saturday evening, Puteh revealed that 90 percent of
the Acehnese people, including clerics playing a dominant role in
the province were against the proposed imposition of a civil
emergency to end the mounting conflict.

Puteh said he would inform President Megawati Soekarnoputri of
the Acehnese people's wishes in his meeting with her in Jakarta
on July 16.

"It is necessary to enforce the law to restore security and
order but this must be followed simultaneously with concrete
actions to improve the people's social welfare because the prime
problem here is not the war but the absence of social justice,"
he said, gaining a warm applause from his audience.

Puteh made the statement only hours after Coordinating
Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono and his entourage left Langsa, East Aceh, for Jakarta
through the North Sumatra provincial capital of Medan.

In a dialog with the minister in Pidie district on Friday,
clerics also called on the government and security authorities to
return to the negotiating table with the Free Aceh Movement
(GAM), instead of using a repressive approach, to seek a peaceful
solution to the prolonged conflict.

Tengku Jauhari Rasyid, an influential ulema in Aceh, suggested
Susilo use dialog as the main means to resolve the Aceh issue.

"Let's end the problems in Aceh through dialog. Pak Minister
you have revealed to the public your kind intentions. So, please
exchange ideas in a good way."

The ulema was responding to Susilo's intention to take
concrete action to stop the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM)
who he claimed has rejected further dialog with Jakarta and
continues to launch assaults on civilians.

Susilo, who was here, accompanied by Indonesian Military
Commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto and home minister Hari Sabarno
to seek inputs from numerous sides, said during the meeting that
the government was ready to dialog with all sides, including GAM,
anywhere in the country to seek a comprehensive solution to the
conflict.

Both the provincial legislature and human rights activists
with whom he held dialogs in Banda Aceh on Monday and Tuesday
have expressed their objections to a repressive approach to solve
the conflict.

Susilo ended his week-long Aceh visit with a dialog with local
officials, activists and clerics in Langsa, East Aceh on Saturday
morning.