GAM says ministers' visit touristic

GAM says ministers' visit touristic

BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): GAM could not guarantee the security of
the Indonesian ministers visiting the restive province, according
to GAM spokesman Sofyan Daud.

"It depends on developments, especially when their visit is
proven to cause the people and GAM to suffer more," Sofyan said
to The Jakarta Post here on Tuesday. He did not go into details.

"No one here wishes a visit from Indonesian officials, which
will make no difference in the Aceh people's demand (for
freedom)," he said.

As many as 13 high-ranking officials, including ministers and
security chiefs arrived and spent the night in Medan on Tuesday
and were scheduled to fly to Banda Aceh before proceeding to
Lhokseumawe by land. Lhokseumawe is known as one of the
strongholds of GAM.

However, after a closed meeting with Aceh Governor Abdullah
Puteh at the Tiara Hotel in Medan on Tuesday night, the officials
decided to go to Lhokseumawe (from Banda Aceh) by plane.

Last April the helicopter carrying the Minister of Energy and
Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro and his entourage,
including reporters from Jakarta, was shot at by unidentified
armed men when the helicopter was about to land at the ExxonOil
plant in Lhokseumawe.

The Indonesian authorities said that the separatist group the
Free Aceh Movement (GAM) was behind the shooting.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono leads the team in the two-day visit to
Aceh.

He said in Jakarta on Monday that the visit was aimed at
finding short-term and immediate solutions to the complex
problems in Aceh.

However, GAM considered the visiting Indonesian ministers as
"tourists" as they would make no difference to the peace deal
prospects for the Aceh people.

Interviewed by The Jakarta Post in Banda Aceh on Tuesday
Sofyan said that what the people of Aceh wanted was international
observers or a kind of a fact-finding team which would
investigate the human rights violations in Aceh,"the results of
which will then be forwarded to an international tribunal for
proper legal process".

Some people interviewed by the Post in Banda Aceh also said
that they didn't expect anything positive from the government
officials' visit.

"Such a visit is usually initiated by a sweeping operation on
motorists or pedestrians just to make sure that the security is
guaranteed for the officials. People are not free to go anywhere
during the officials' visit. So, no visit would be better for
us," said a Banda Aceh man, who wished to remain anonymous.

The release

Asked about the government's decision to free the six GAM
negotiators who have been detained since July, Sofyan said that
the six GAM negotiators deserved that without any preconditions.
"They committed no sin, furthermore, their release is one of the
conditions (set by GAM) for the Indonesian government to continue
talks with us."

"The release of the six benefits both the Indonesian
government and GAM. Indonesia will be the target of international
criticism if they do not release them."

The six GAM negotiators are Tengku Nashiruddin bin Ahmad, Amni
bin Marzuki, Amdi bin Hamdani, T, Kamaruzzaman, T. Mahmud and
Sofyan Ibrahim Tiba. They are all being detained at the Aceh
Police Headquarters for treason under Criminal Code Article 106
and forgery under Article 236, since some of the suspects also
held fake passports.

Susilo asserted in Medan on Tuesday that the release of the
six negotiators would be possible as long as "they were not
implicated in any other charges".

Speaking to reporters Susilo said that certain "rules of the
game" had to be established if the central government and GAM
were to sit at the negotiating table again.

Sofyan Daud said that GAM always responded positively to any
peace efforts initiated by the government. "But violence must be
stopped and what has been reached in the previous talks must be
fully respected and implemented."

The separatist group has been fighting for an independent
Islamic state since the mid-1970s.

The peace talks between the rebels and government
representatives were sponsored by the Geneva-based Henry Dunant
Center, which has been mediating discussions between the two
sides in Switzerland over the past 18 months.

Violence and killings continue despite the peace talks. GAM
always accuses the Indonesian military of being behind the
violence, while the Indonesian military says GAM is to be held
responsible for the violence.

Megawati Soekarnoputri's administration has been aware of the
importance of a peaceful solution to the Aceh problem.

The newly elected President Megawati, in her first state-of-
the-nation address on Aug. 16, apologized for past human rights
abuses in Aceh and the easternmost province of Irian Jaya.

She pledged to maintain national unity and outlined her
vision, which will focus on efforts to rescue the country from
its current dilemmas. (42/50/sur)