Govt likely to revive talks with GAM

Ivy Susanti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government hopes to resume peace talks with Free Aceh Movement (GAM) leaders later this month, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said on Wednesday.

A previous truce between the two sides collapsed amid mutual recriminations in 2003.

The minister, however, declined to speculate on what kind of an outcome such a meeting might produce.

The venue and the date for the talks would be determined later, Hassan added.

Following the Dec. 26 earthquake and the subsequent tidal wave that killed over 115,000 people in Aceh, the government and GAM announced a cease-fire and shifted their attention to helping survivors of the disaster,

"We hope and think that it's quite realistic that by the end of this month both sides can sit down together for a meeting," Hassan said.

"I have noticed that the government and GAM have sensed an opportunity -- in the wake of the disaster -- to end the conflict. Reconstruction and rehabilitation in Aceh, which may take up to five years, will only be capable of taking place in a secure and politically stable environment."

The minister said that there had been preliminary, informal talks between the government and GAM leaders in Aceh that had produced positive signals regarding the possibility of a formal dialog.

He added that the government might ask a third party to serve as a mediator. "We may employ a mediator but, at this point, we cannot give any names."

The Geneva-based Henri Dunant Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, backed by the United States, the European Union and Japan, mediated during a previous round of talks prior to the breakdown of the process in 2003.

Hassan said that amnesties for GAM members might be possible.

"The Indonesian government will consider this if GAM is willing to sit down for reconciliation talks to end the Aceh conflict.

"We won't talk now about the contents of any agreement that might be reached during the meeting -- whether on the suspension of the legal process in Sweden, or rehabilitation or amnesty for GAM rebels -- because I think it's too early to speculate on these matters." he said.

The Swedish government arrested three GAM leaders last June -- founder Hasan Tiro, self-styled Aceh foreign minister Zaini Abdullah and "prime minister" Malik Mahmud -- at the request of Indonesia, which alleged that the three were guilty of offenses under international law.

A Swedish court released Zaini and Mahmud a few days later, citing lack of evidence. Tiro was not taken into custody for health reasons.

All the rebel leaders hold Swedish passports and cannot be extradited for trial in Indonesia.

Zaini said on Wednesday that he could not comment on the proposal for formal negotiations. "We still do not know the specifics of the plan," Zaini told AP in Sweden. "We prefer to hold the talks (outside Indonesia), but let us see the proposal first."

GAM separatists have been waging a rebellion against Jakarta since 1976 to fight for an independent Aceh.

The government and the rebels achieved a peace truce in Geneva in 2002 as a starting point to an all-inclusive dialog in Aceh. The accord broke down in Tokyo in May 2003, with each side accusing the other of bad faith.

During the Tokyo talks, Jakarta offered a special autonomy package for Aceh, which would give local people more control over their own affairs, but adamantly rejected GAM's demand for an independent state.

The government later imposed martial law in Aceh for one year until May 2004 in an attempt to crush the rebel movement. The province since then has been under a state of civil emergency.

More than 2,300 rebels have been killed in military operations since May 2003, according to the military. But human rights groups say many of the victims were actually civilians, a charge denied by the government.