CMI: Special autonomy the only alternative

CMI: Special autonomy the only alternative

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Top-level delegations of the Indonesian government and the Free
Aceh Movement (GAM) kicked off a second round of peace talks on
Monday, with a strong message that special autonomy for Aceh
would be the only consideration on the agenda.

"I think it's extremely important that everyone understands
that we are not starting negotiations, and they are not open, as
such, so that all possible alternatives could be considered. We
only have one (alternative)," former Finnish president Maarti
Ahtisaari, the chairman of facilitator group Crisis Management
Initiative (CMI) said as quoted by Reuters.

"The whole exercise is aimed at looking at whether the
possibility of ... special autonomy can actually provide the
basis for ending the armed conflict."

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has said that
his government would discuss "special autonomy and topics around
that" for Aceh, where over 12,000 have been killed in three
decades of fighting.

The autonomy deal Jakarta has offered includes concessions
towards self-rule and Islamic law in the devout Muslim province
and a larger slice of the revenue earned by the province's
natural resources.

GAM spokesman Bachtiar Abdullah, however, said special
autonomy, or any other political solution, should not be listed
as the top agenda for the talks. He stressed a cessation of
hostilities in the province was more urgent for the time being.

"If special autonomy is part of 'the peace package', then it
should not be top of the list. The Indonesian government can
offer it (the special autonomy) now, but we can discuss it months
later only after both parties are able to prove their commitment
to a cease-fire," Abdullah told The Jakarta Post.

In the January meeting, GAM highlighted three points as its
desired first steps for the conflict resolution in Aceh,
including a cease-fire, the withdrawal of the 40,000-strong
Indonesian force from Aceh and the lifting of the state of
emergency in the province.

But Ahtisaari said a cease-fire should be part of a more
comprehensive peace deal rather than an end in itself.

"We need the security arrangement, disarmament of people, but
that has to come as part of an overall package that consists of
many other details," he said.

Brought together by the Dec. 26 tsunami that devastated Aceh
and parts of North Sumatra, where more than 235,000 people died
or went missing, the two sides first met in Helsinki in late
January.

It was the first face-to-face meeting between Indonesia and
the GAM since 2003 and proved constructive enough to spark
further talks aimed at a lasting peace for the gas-rich province
on the northern tip of Sumatra island.

While the Helsinki talks were underway, violence broke out in
separate locations in Aceh, leaving one soldier dead and seven
others wounded on Sunday.

An Indonesian Military (TNI) spokesman, Col. D.J. Nachrowi,
said on Monday the troops were killed and injured in a gun battle
in Harapan village, West Aceh.

Another clash between GAM and TNI soldiers also occurred on
Saturday along Aceh's west coast as the U.N.-affiliated
International Organization for Migration was hauling goods and
supplies destined for survivors, a spokeswoman said.

According to Simona Opitz, the organization's spokeswoman, one
soldier was slightly injured in the fighting. She said no IOM
members were targeted by the rebels.