GAM establish embassy on Vanuatu : Report

GAM establish embassy on Vanuatu : Report

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government has asked Vanuatu to clarify a report that the
Free Aceh Movement has been allowed to establish a representative
office on the small south-west Pacific islands nation.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said in Jakarta on Tuesday that the
government would file a strong protest if the report was true.

GAM's government-in-exile claimed to have opened an embassy in
Vanuatu over the weekend, which would make the nation, located in
the New Hebrides archipelago, the first to recognize the rebels.

A statement issued by Malik Mahmud, the prime minister-in-
exile of the "State of Aceh", said: "This event took place (on
Sunday) in Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu, during a ceremony
of the opening of the Joint Chanceries of the Embassies of Aceh,
Papua and Maluku by His Excellency Mr. Serge R. Vohor, the Deputy
Prime Minister of Vanuatu."

"For the Acehnese people, this historic event represents the
first recognition by a nation-state, of the legitimate right of
the Acehnese to determine their own political future."

A copy of Mahmud's statement was made available to Deutsche
Presse-Agentur (dpa) in Jakarta.

In March this year, Vanuatu allowed the Free Papua Movement
(OPM) to establish an office in Port Vila.

Vanuatu said at the time that allowing the OPM to establish an
office did not mean that it recognized formal diplomatic
relations with the rebel movement, insisting the office had no
official diplomatic status.

Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said
that if the report was true, the attitude of the Vanuatu
government could damage the reputation and international support
for the Indonesian government.

It would not be consistent with what Vanuatu has allowed in
the past, Natalegawa told dpa in a telephone interview from
Auckland, New Zealand.

"This so-called opening would not have any legal standing
whatsoever, because there is not a single country in the world
that recognizes Aceh," he added.

The OPM, GAM and the Republic of South Maluku (RMS) have been
struggling for independence from Indonesia for decades.

Aceh and Papua are rich in resources but the development of
the provinces, particularly in Papua, has lagged well behind
other parts of Indonesia. Once thriving Maluku has been
devastated by years of religious clashes against outside
elements, mainly from Java.