Government-GAM peace talks hanging in the balance

Government-GAM peace talks hanging in the balance

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The peace talks between the government and separatist Free
Aceh Movement (GAM) slated to be held in Geneva early this month
are still hanging in the balance as no date has been set.

Information officer for Aceh Dialog for Peace Fahmi Yusuf said
on Wednesday that the talks initially scheduled to begin on Sept.
5 had been delayed because the Indonesian government had failed
to confirm the proposed date.

"The Henry Dunant Center has informed us that the dialog will
be delayed until further notice," Fahmi said on Wednesday as
quoted by Antara.

The Henry Dunant Center (HDC), which sponsored the talks, had
planned the dialog to run for three days, starting Sept. 5, he
said.

Meanwhile, an official at the Henry Dunant Center told The
Jakarta Post that the dialog was not postponed as there was no
date set yet.

"We hoped to hold a dialog in a near future, but not on those
dates. We always avoid setting a date way in advance," the
official said.

He said that the process to facilitate dialog was continuing
and the two sides had expressed positive signs to start another
round of peace talks.

Separately, government officials said that the government had
actually confirmed its participation in the peace talks.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono left Indonesia for Europe on Tuesday,
and planned to go to the HDC office.

Indonesian chief negotiator for Aceh Wiryono Sastrohandoyo was
also in Europe, his relatives said on Wednesday.

Aceh Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) director Rufriadi said that
Jakarta should immediately decide whether or not to join the
dialog because the three international wise men were only
available up until Sept. 12 to facilitate the dialog.

He was referring to Gen. Anthony Zinni from the United States,
Surin Vitsuan from Thailand and Bonimir Lancar from Yugoslavia,
who were present in the last dialog in May.

"If there is no signal from Jakarta of its intent to continue
the dialog before Sept. 12, then there will be no follow up talks
at all," Rufriadi said.

The government has been vacillating regarding with this
planned peace talks. Initially, it said it would attend the
dialog only if GAM accepted the special autonomy package.

Then, later, the government changed its mind and decided to
attend the talk, saying that having another dialog with GAM could
be useful.

In the recent interview with The Jakarta Post, Wiryono said
the government aimed to reach another agreement with GAM to cease
hostilities, a precondition to hold the planned all-inclusive
dialog for Aceh.