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.