Govt-GAM dialog should have no deadline: HDC
Govt-GAM dialog should have no deadline: HDC
Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh
A visiting director of the Geneva-based Henry Dunant Center
(HDC), a mediator of peace talks between the Indonesian
government and the secessionist Free Aceh Movement (GAM),
criticized the government's decision to set a deadline for a
dialog with the movement.
"It's not a good idea to set a deadline for a dialog," Martin
Griffiths said at the end of his three-day visit to the strife-
torn province here on Saturday.
Griffiths was apparently referring to the statement from the
government, that demanded GAM accept the autonomy law for Aceh by
December as a prerequisite for dialog.
Some representatives of GAM in Aceh, nevertheless, have said
that GAM would accept the law provided that there were some
revisions made to it, especially on direct ballots to elect local
leaders.
According to Griffiths, negotiation needed passion and it
should not be bound by time limits. He noted that HDC's
two-and-a-half year role in facilitating peace talks between the
government and GAM was not a long period.
"Compared to our activities in other countries, our time here
is still short," he said.
Nevertheless, Griffiths commended the commitment of both the
government and GAM to reach an agreement, and to do so with all
speed. "But it needs courage. Let's pray together for both
sides," he said.
Griffiths emphasized that the most important thing for the
opposing camps would be how they could reach an agreement to stop
violence before the Islamic fasting month of Ramadhan, which
would begin early November.
He said that the next dialog should focus on a peace agreement
and determine sanctions for those who committed violations.
According to him, one effective punishment would be in the form
of publication in the mass media.
He said there should be an independent monitoring team to
assess the result of any agreement reached between GAM and
Jakarta.
He said that during his three-day visit in Aceh he met
representatives of GAM, government officials, and local community
leaders.
After meeting leaders in Aceh, Griffiths flew to Jakarta on
Saturday to see government officials and then would go to
Stockholm on Monday to meet with GAM leaders.
"I want to tell you that in the past eight weeks there has
been intensive negotiation between the government of Indonesia
and GAM on details of the peace agreement, based on a cessation
of hostilities," Griffiths said.
In fact, the government and GAM have signed a number of
agreements to end violence in Aceh. Nevertheless, fatalities
remain a common sight in Aceh. The latest was the finding of six
bodies by Indonesian red cross volunteers in separate locations
in the province.