Civil emergency status in troubled Aceh extended

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government has extended the state of civil emergency in Aceh, but is still undecided for how long the extension will last and what areas of the province will be included in the order.

The decision was taken during a limited Cabinet meeting chaired by Vice President Jusuf Kalla on Friday. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was in Cairo, Egypt, to attend the funeral of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who died on Thursday.

"The state of civil emergency will continue with several adjustments to the time period and the areas covered," Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo A.S. said following the meeting.

The current state of civil emergency was declared on May 19, 2004, following one year of martial law aimed at stamping out the secessionist Free Aceh Movement (GAM), which has been fighting for independence for the resource-rich province since 1976. More than 15,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Aceh since 1976.

The current state civil emergency expired on Nov. 8 and according to Widodo, the limited Cabinet meeting agreed to extend the order to maintain peace and order in Aceh.

Rights activists have criticized the imposition of martial law and the state of civil emergency across the province, saying GAM does not have a presence in all of the province's regencies.

Widodo said the extended state of civil emergency would likely last for less than six months, and would only apply to certain areas of Aceh.

The retired admiral said the results of the Cabinet meeting would be reported to President Susilo as soon as possible.

Widodo said that while large numbers of GAM rebels had been killed or arrested by security authorities, GAM still had the ability to create disturbances in the province.

"We have to maintain the momentum for peace in the province. There have been numerous achievements over the past six months, but we must remain vigilant," he said.

Former president Megawati Soekarnoputri imposed martial law in Aceh on May 19, 2003, following the breakdown of a dialog between the government and GAM leaders in Sweden.

After one year of martial law, which saw the deployment of more than 40,000 troops to the country's westernmost province, the government lowered the status to a state of civil emergency on May 19, 2004. This original state of civil emergency lasted for six months.

"We will also consult with the House of Representatives as soon as we have a definite decision from the President on the extension of the emergency status," Widodo said.

Commenting on calls from many Acehnese for the government to revive the dialog process with GAM, Widodo said the government was keeping open the line of communication with the people.

"We have never closed the channel of communication," he said.

When asked whether the government would agree to a dialog with GAM leaders in Sweden, Widodo said: "Not formally."