Foreign supervisors needed for Aceh peace talks

Foreign supervisors needed for Aceh peace talks

Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebel group narrowed
their differences when they concluded on Tuesday their fourth
round of informal talks aimed at seeking enduring peace in Aceh.
Both sides also agreed to resume negotiations in July, before a
peace deal, if there is to be one, is struck. The Jakarta Post's
Tiarma Siboro and other journalists got a chance to talk to
government negotiator Sofyan Djalil about the peace prospects.
The following is an excerpt.

Question: Lawmakers did not agree with the involvement of a
foreign monitoring team in the Aceh problems. What is your
comment?

Answer: There is no such intervention nor involvement of
foreign countries in the Aceh case. The truth is both the
Indonesian delegation and leadership of the Free Aceh Movement
(GAM) have agreed that a monitoring team involving a foreign
country will be necessary to supervise and observe whether or not
each party follows the agreement by carrying out their tasks
properly. I don't think that the monitoring team is in any way a
form of foreign intervention.

Is it true that nearly 90 percent of the crucial issues on
Aceh have been worked out by both delegation teams?

One could say so. There is a mutual understanding between the
two parties, and we (the Indonesian delegation) are now codifying
a draft on common ground that has been reached at the negotiating
table. Of course, such a draft isn't a final agreement.

Can you elaborate?

During the series of meetings, both the Indonesian delegation
and GAM leadership have discussed all the problems that have been
raised ever since the conflict began in Aceh. I must admit that
we have yet to reach a common understanding over several crucial
points, but, of course, there are more issues where we have
reached a mutual understanding. Take amnesty, for example. We
have agreed to grant it to Aceh prisoners. Principally, we are
looking for a comprehensive settlement for Aceh and it should be
based on Indonesia's Constitution and existing laws. Hopefully
both parties can reach an agreement to bridge the differences.

How about the security arrangement?

It is quite simple. Once the peace deal has been reached, it
will not necessitate the presence of Acehnese armed forces. This,
of course, will mean that the government will not deploy troops
outside Aceh to the territory. The problem is, the government
needs to deploy that many troops and police personnel to Aceh
because of the presence of the armed separatist movement in the
province. The withdrawal of the troops and police personnel must
be done in tandem with GAM's decision to drop its arms. All
things must be parallel, and, indeed, we need the monitoring team
to supervise the process. Of course, this is just an idea which
we leave to the Indonesian government and the GAM leadership to
decide.

How about the idea of establishing a local political party?

I wish both the Indonesian delegation and GAM leadership could
accommodate this issue. As part of the Indonesian government, we
are only authorized to continue the discussion on the issue
within the parameters of Indonesian law and we are now dealing
with this matter; so is the GAM leadership.

Why is the government so worried about allowing the Acehnese
to have their own political parties?

Because our existing laws do not accommodate it. If GAM
insists on establishing a local political party, then we must
review our legislation. In the case of Aceh, the government has
granted a special autonomy status. It is part of our existing
laws. Whether we should revise it or not, we have yet to discuss
this.

We have to find a way that enables GAM members to channel
their political aspirations. It remains unclear whether we will
decide that GAM members should channel their political aspiration
through other political parties that already exist. But, one
thing which is certain is we are seeking any means possible to
create peace in Aceh.