GAM still eyeing independence in 2004 election
Nani Farida and Berni K. Moestafa, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh/Jakarta
One crucial block to lasting peace in Aceh remains unresolved as the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) implies it wants the 2004 general election to decide on Aceh's independence, but the Indonesian Government has explicitly said no to that.
GAM negotiator Teuku Kamaruzzaman said the recent peace accord GAM signed with the Indonesian government did discuss the details of a political process in Aceh to which both sides had agreed to once hostility between them ended
"We (GAM and the government) have different aspirations but we agreed to accommodate them through a political democratic process," he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
He did not elaborate on GAM's aspiration but chief negotiator Abdullah Zaini had said earlier that negotiations with Indonesia rested on its goal for an independent state of Aceh.
Kamaruzzaman also declined to use the word referendum or self determination, explaining that the mechanism for the 2004 election was not part of the agreement.
He said the context of the election was left open for further negotiation and emphasized that Monday's agreement centered on ending the hostility and not resolving political differences.
Called the Cessation of Hostility Framework Agreement, the peace accord marks the most promising breakthrough so far in the two and a half years of negotiation with GAM.
According to the 6-page document, both sides would work toward ending their hostility to pave the way for an All-Inclusive dialog. The dialog will comprise a cross-section of Acehnese society and will eventually lead to the "election of a democratic government in Aceh, Indonesia," the agreement states.
The first article stipulates Aceh's special autonomy law as the agreement's starting point. This would imply GAM's acceptance of Aceh remaining part of Indonesia. Yet Kamaruzzaman denied that, and referred to the upcoming election as where "the aspirations of the Acehnese will be accommodated under a political process."
While the agreement says: "In order to meet the aspirations of the people of Acheh and permit them to administer themselves freely and democratically, the GOI (Government of Indonesia) and GAM agree to a process which leads to an election in 2004 and the subsequent establishment of a democratically elected government in Acheh, Indonesia, in accordance with the review of the NAD (Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam) Law, as provided for in point 1 of the 10 May 2002 Joint Statement."
The government has repeatedly emphasized that the upcoming All-Inclusive dialog and the 2004 general election would be held under the context of staying within the state of Indonesia.
Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh said the 2004 general election would be part of the national election without exception.
"It's part of the national election ... GAM might participate as a political party," he was quoted as saying by SCTV television.
The contradicting statements underscore the tough road ahead for both sides in coming to a conclusive agreement of which Monday's peace accord was just the start.
"This (deal) is only the start of bringing two extreme poles of aspirations together; we must let this process go through its phases," Kamaruzzaman said. "I'd say now we focus on what we have (the peace agreement) and stop the hostility."
GAM started its independence fight in 1976 in a war that has left more than 1,700 people dead this year alone. Throughout the war, most of the victims have been civilians.