GAM held at gunpoint, told to sign agreement

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.