GAM ready to end hostility, violence
Nani Farida The Jakarta Post Banda Aceh
Field commanders of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) are ready to hold conditional peace talks with the local military and police in an attempt to end hostilities and violence, says a GAM official.
"We strongly support peace talks between the field commanders on both sides to end the hostilities and stop the prolonged violence," GAM negotiator Sofyan Ibrahim Tiba said here on Sunday.
Sofyan was responding to a statement by Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono that both sides should hold talks to follow up the agreement reached at the meeting in Geneva on May 9 and May 10.
According to information obtained by The Jakarta Post, at least 36 civilians were killed during mounting tension over the last two weeks in separate locations in the restive province. Most victims were found dead, with gunshot wounds to their head, an indication that they had been abducted before being shot dead.
During the last meeting held in Geneva in May, GAM agreed to accept the special autonomy the central government has given to Aceh, as a meaningful starting point for further negotiations under the all-Aceh inclusive dialogs to seek a peaceful solution to the prolonged conflict.
Sofyan added that GAM would not attend peace talks (consequent upon both sides agreeing to a cease-fire) unless the security of GAM negotiators at the peace talks were assured.
"It is impossible for GAM to hold peace talks if the violence continues and our negotiators' security is not guaranteed," he said, referring to his arrest and that of two other GAM negotiators in July 2001.
Sofyan said the planned inclusive all-Aceh dialog would be held next month in the province, but GAM had yet to receive any invitation or the agenda to be discussed at the meeting.
Spokesman for GAM in Aceh Besar Teuku Muksalmina accused the local military and police of being behind the increasing abduction of civilians without trial.
"The local military and police have been behind them because many Acehnese civilians have been abducted and later killed, because they were suspected of spying for GAM," he said.
He said security personnel should not arrest innocent people if they failed to capture rebels.
"The civilians know nothing about the conflict. Security personnel should come to the hideouts in our strongholds in the province if the authorities want to quell our movement," he said.
Meanwhile, spokesman for the Iskandar Muda Military Command overseeing Aceh Col. Firdaus denied GAM's accusations, saying the massive killing had been carried out by invisible forces or by GAM in its attempt to discredit the military and the government.
"The killing has been exposed widely to draw attention from the international world as well as to discredit the government," he said.
Firdaus insisted the security authorities had never ordered arbitrary arrests or killings and if there were security personnel involved in such cases plus adequate material evidence to prove it, they had to be punished.