GAM told to accept special Autonomy Law

GAM told to accept special Autonomy Law

Annastashya Emmanuelle, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has to accept the special autonomy
law for Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) if it wishes to pursue a
peace dialog with the government, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Hassan Wirayuda has said.

"GAM should know by now that the government takes the special
autonomy law and the integrity of Indonesia as the modality of
negotiations," Hassan said after a Cabinet meeting in Jakarta on
Monday.

"Continuing to demand independence will only bring the dialog
to a standstill," he added.

He also said that the government would evaluate in the next
one or two weeks whether the (previous) dialogue had produced an
effective result.

"Afterwards, it will be up to us to decide ... we could say,
this is enough and pursue another option," Hassan said, while
stressing that the other option would not necessarily mean a
military approach, and the government will proceed with its
comprehensive solution.

Asked whether there would be another dialog with GAM as Hassan
previously stated -- 30 days to 45 days after the last one held
in Geneva, Switzerland -- the Minister said it all depended on
the results of the evaluation.

"We shall see whether GAM will accept the special autonomy
package as a final solution. If not, it would only be a waste of
time," he said.

Vice President Hamzah Haz said on Sunday that there was no
reason for GAM to exist, now that the government had paid special
heed to the Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province.

Last week, Coordinating Minister for Political and Security
Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono also expressed the government's
reluctance to proceed with negotiations, saying that it might not
continue to seek a solution with the secessionist movement
through dialogue should it continue to reject the special
autonomy package.

The government reinstated the military command in Aceh on
Tuesday last week, amid criticism from human rights activists and
rejection from the Acehnese, fearing wider abuse in the province.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri is expected to issue a
presidential instruction extending and modifying Presidential
Instruction No.7/2001 on the use of military measures to quash
the separatist movement in the province.