GAM held at gunpoint, told to sign agreement
Team, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government and the military upped the pressure on the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to sign a peace agreement as soon as possible as scores of rebels, including GAM leaders, are still under siege in North Aceh.
Meanwhile the Henry Dunant Centre (HDC) which has facilitated dialogs for the two conflicting factions, reiterated that the signing of the peace agreement would be conducted after the fasting month of Ramadhan.
"Actually, the government was ready to sign the agreement at the end of October or early November. But the deal failed to be materialized as GAM delayed unilaterally the signing until after Ramadhan on grounds that they have to hold further discussion with informal and religious leaders in Aceh," Indonesian negotiator Wiryono Sastrohandoyo said in a joint press conference with HDC here on Friday.
David Gorman, an HDC official, said that despite several delays, he was optimistic that GAM would sign the peace agreement after Ramadhan.
"Last week, some Aceh leaders held a meeting with us (HDC) in Geneva, where they said that they needed more time to consult some prominent issues in the agreement itself... They did not have any objection with the agreement... They just said that there are some issues that should be resolved," Gorman said referring to the agreement draft.
He declined to elaborate on which points of the agreement draft that GAM was still stuck on, saying "it is not my part to tell you here."
Namuri Anom, a deputy to coordinating minister for political and security affairs, said that most Acehnese people hoped the peace agreement would be signed on Nov. 23, a good day for Muslim people in the fasting month.
Earlier, President Megawati Soekarnoputri has called on HDC to ask GAM to go to the negotiation table to have the peace agreement signed on Nov. 24, instead of after the fasting month, which is in early December.
Separately, Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said on Friday, that his soldiers would not end the siege of a group of rebels in North Aceh as long as GAM refused to sign the peace agreement.
"Should they fail to sign the agreement by the deadline, we will bombard the rebels' hiding place," Endriartono said.
He emphasized that the siege had nothing to do with the delayed peace talks, saying that the military had located the area where GAM officials, including GAM Commander Mazakhir Manaf, were believed to be hiding, before GAM delayed the meeting.
According to him, the Paya Cot Trieng, a swampy area in Nissam subdistrict in North Aceh has long been used as a GAM headquarters to coordinate its operations.
"That is why we are not going to let them out, because they do not have the right to use weapons, while our main task is to protect the country," Endriartono remarked.
From Aceh, Sofyan Dawood, spokesman for GAM, called on the international community to focus its attention on the some 3,000 TNI soldiers supported by tanks, which had trapped more than 120 Acehnese people and a score of rebels for the past four days in Paya Cot Trieng.
"The deployment of artillery mortars, armored carriers and grenades are against international conventions ... Despite the siege, we will never give up. It is better and more honorable for us to die in the war.
"We will win the war and the international community will be ashamed after they see what a valiant defense we put up, all alone" he said.
Sofyan denied that GAM Commander Muzakhir Manaf was with the rebels in the hiding place, saying: "There are only me and my deputy Tengku Agam and a number of rebels while more than 120 civilians are here with us after they were wanted by the military."
He said the siege would not disrupt the planned dialog between the two conflicting sides, "and GAM is ready to go to the negotiating table to sign the peace agreement to end the hostility.
In Banda Aceh, hundreds of Acehnese people were barred by the local police from entering the Baiturrachman Grand Mosque to pray for the cessation of the hostility in the restive province. The mass prayer was held to celebrate the second anniversary of the Acehnese Mass gathering for a self-determination referendum.
M. Nazar, chairman of the Center for Information on Aceh Referendum, condemned the security authorities' action, saying no sides have authority to prevent Muslim people from praying in the mosque.