COHA has ceased to exist, says minister
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA) has ceased to exist after the government and separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) failed to reach an agreement during a meeting in Tokyo over the weekend, a Cabinet minister says.
"Substantially, COHA has already ended and the role of HDC as peace facilitator has also ended," said Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda, referring to Switzerland-based non- governmental organization Henry Dunant Centre, which brokered the peace pact signed on Dec. 9, 2002.
"An agreement has value only if it serves its objectives and purposes, which in COHA's case has already failed," Hassan said.
He underlined that there was no need for the government to officially withdraw from the deal as the break down of the peace talks had rendered the peace deal ineffective.
The government and GAM met in Tokyo on Saturday and Sunday to discuss ways to salvage the fragile peace in Aceh, where the rebels have been fighting for independence for resource-rich Aceh since 1976. Over 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in that period.
The peace talks broke down after GAM leaders flatly rejected the peace terms put forward by the government. The government had demanded that GAM renounce its aspirations for independence, accept the special autonomy status for Aceh, and lay down its arms.
On Sunday, President Megawati Soekarnoputri issued a decree imposing martial law in Aceh and vowed to crush GAM in the next six months. Close to 27,000 soldiers, including 3,000 reinforcement troops, are currently stationed in the province.
The international community regretted on Monday the failure of both the government and GAM to seize the opportunity to settle the Aceh problem through peaceful means and encouraged both parties to return to the negotiating table.
The United States, European Union and Japan -- cochairs of the Aceh reconstruction meeting in Tokyo last year -- said they "do not believe that obstacles to a peaceful solution are insurmountable, even at this late hour".
"For that reason, it is of grave concern that renewed hostilities would take Aceh further away from the path of peace," they said in a statement on Monday.
British Ambassador to Indonesia Richard Gozney said it was regrettable that the Tokyo meeting failed, but stressed that he could understand the decision to launch military operations in Aceh.
"Indonesia has been serious in attempting to salvage peace in Aceh. My government respects Indonesia's requirement in the peace talks," he said.
Malaysian Deputy Defense Minister Shafie Apdal, meanwhile, urged Indonesia to restore peace in Aceh province as soon as possible, saying the violence there could undermine stability in the region.
Acknowledging that the problem was for Indonesia to resolve, he said: "A resolution is important to preserve peace and stability in our region."
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark also called for the resumption of peace talks.
"It's a very worrying situation and the position of the New Zealand government is that we would like to see the parties return to mediation and negotiation,"she told a news conference.
"We feel that special autonomy was a workable solution if both sides were committed to it and the only way to work that through is to get back into mediation," Clark said.
Japanese officials expressed a willingness to host more meetings between the two sides.
But Tokyo has no plans to push such talks until it assesses the mood of both sides, underlining that after the Sunday's meeting "both sides are a little emotional."
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said in a statement that Japan wants to facilitate a peaceful solution and called the breakdown of the two-day talks "extremely disappointing".