Govt, GAM undecided on troop withdrawal

Govt, GAM undecided on troop withdrawal

BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): Representatives of the government and
the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in the highest forum in Geneva have
failed to come to an agreement on the question of a troop
withdrawal, an official said here on Tuesday.

The two parties eventually gave up discussing the matter with
the Aceh-based joint security committee set up following the
enactment of a humanitarian pause early this month.

"There was a stalemate in the talks to decide on the six
points of ground rules concerning security issues in Aceh. Now
that they have entrusted us to carry out the negotiations, we
will try our best," Col. Sulaiman A.B., the government
representative in the security committee, said here.

The committee sent six points to Geneva for debate on June 23,
after it reached no agreement here.

Among the disputed matters is the presence of military and
police personnel, which is a condition agreed upon in terms for
the humanitarian pause approved on May 12.

GAM has said it wants the police's Mobile Brigade (Brimob) in
various areas in Aceh withdrawn and replaced with approved
security guards. It has also proposed a complete withdrawal of
the military from the field to the barracks, a cessation of
operations and disarmament.

Meanwhile, Indonesian representatives insisted that the
ongoing Cinta Meunasah police operation, a continuation of
Operation Sadar Rencong, must be maintained to restore law and
order.

In a related development, a police officer was stabbed in the
neck by an armed gang in Lhokseumawe, the capital of giant
industrial regency North Aceh at about 4 a.m. on Tuesday.

The officer reportedly works as a security guard at state Bank
Mandiri. Details of the incident are not available.

Violence in Aceh has killed more than 400 people this year. At
least 40 of them died after the signing of the peace accord in
Geneva on May 12. (50/edt)