Government to seek broader dialog with Acehnese

Government to seek broader dialog with Acehnese

JAKARTA (JP): The government said on Thursday that it would
seek an all-inclusive dialog with the Acehnese to defuse
separatist sentiment in the troubled province.

"The government is now developing a more comprehensive dialog
and political communication between Jakarta and the Acehnese,"
Coordinating Minister for Political, Social and Security Affairs
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said after attending the last Cabinet
meeting of the year.

Susilo said the dialog would include members of the separatist
Free Aceh Movement (GAM), the Information Center for Aceh
Referendum (SIRA) activists, local ulemas, non-governmental
organizations and Acehnese civic leaders.

"So far, the formal dialog has only been conducted between the
central government and GAM under the humanitarian pause
agreement. So, we have been advised by Acehnese civic leaders to
seek other dialog partners," Susilo said.

He added Jakarta would also apply the same approach in Irian
Jaya, which is also plagued by rising separatist sentiment.

"One of the President's agendas during his visit to Irian Jaya
is to develop a dialog with all elements in the province and not
only with the (proindependence) Papua Presidium Council," Susilo
said, referring to Abdurrahman Wahid's planned visit to the
easternmost province on Monday.

The statement came after Minister of Defense Mahfud MD said
on Wednesday that there would be no further negotiations with GAM
after the expiration of the humanitarian pause on Jan. 15.

The government and GAM signed a humanitarian pause in May to
cease the violence in Aceh. The agreement was extended for
another three months in September.

The accord, however, has failed to bring a halt to the
violence.

Top security officials have suggested that if by Jan. 15
Abdurrahman's reconciliatory approach failed to bring concrete
results, the government would resort to military operations in
Aceh.

Meanwhile, in what appears to be a demand for more funds for
defense spending, Susilo said the Cabinet meeting also discussed
on Tuesday the importance of "looking back at our military and
police weaponry" since "security personnel have been endlessly
dispatched to trouble spots to restore order".

The government, therefore, hopes the House of Representatives
will be "cooperative" so that sufficient funds will be allocated
to the defense budget next year, Susilo said.

"We are not suggesting that we should modernize our weaponry
but we only want to emphasize that we need to have proper and
necessary equipment to do the job effectively," Susilo said.(byg)