Govt, GAM begin talks on key issues
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The latest round of peace talks between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) kicked off on Tuesday in Helsinki, with both sides saying an agreement to end the conflict was within reach.
The Indonesian chief negotiator, Minister of Justice and Human Rights Hamid Awaluddin, said that the first day of the fifth round of the talks had run smoothly, despite controversy among Indonesian politicians, who recently criticized the peace process for being "off track".
"We (the government) have come up with a proposal to grant amnesty to the rebels. We hope such a legal policy would pave the way for them (the rebels) to participate in political issues and the rehabilitation process in the province.
"The government has also promised to boost economic development in Aceh and expects the former rebels to join hand-in-hand with the other Acehnese (people) to rebuild Aceh," Hamid told television station SCTV on the sidelines of the talks.
The Helsinki talks, initiated after the Dec. 26 tsunami, are aimed at seeking ways to end the three decades of bloody conflict, in which over 15,000 people have been killed.
The July meeting could be the final round of informal talks between the two parties. Two weeks ago, Martti Ahtisaari of the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI), which is facilitating the talks, submitted a draft agreement to Jakarta and the GAM leaders. That document is expected to be the basis of a possible peace accord, the implementation of which would be monitored by up to 200 observers from the European Union (EU).
Ahtisaari has said that if Indonesia and GAM reached a comprehensive agreement there would be a need for the monitoring of the decommissioning of arms and the withdrawal of military forces from Aceh.
Some earlier reports have said Vice President Jusuf Kalla will come to Helsinki in August when the final peace agreement is expected to be reached.
The Indonesian government has said it will never let Aceh separate from Indonesia, but will give it a greater say in running its affairs. The rebels have publicly dropped their independence demand, and now want the right to form their own regional political parties to take part in elections for the provincial government. The GAM leaders' demand to form their own political parties, however, has been rejected by the Indonesian government.
"GAM doesn't ask (for) anything but democratic rights, which include to form their own political parties -- instead of joining the existing political parties -- for every Acehnese person," GAM spokesman Bakhtiar Abdullah told The Jakarta Post from Sweden.
"If the Indonesian government cannot accept our proposal on political parties and local direct elections, which items can we put on the negotiating table?," Bakhtiar asked.
Hamid insisted that the proposal on the establishment of local political parties should be dropped, because "it has no legal basis."
He, however, remained optimistic that the talks would not meet a deadlock, arguing that "GAM leadership believes that the ongoing peace talks are the only solution to end the conflict."
Despite the ongoing peace talks, armed clashes between rebels and government troops have continued in Aceh, claiming the lives of dozens of people, including civilians, and injuring foreign humanitarian workers.
A Jakarta-based non-governmental organization Aceh Working Group (AWG) has asked the government to monitor the rising number of militia groups in Aceh, fearing the groups could be used as "political instrument" by the military to halt the peace process.