Govt should allow GAM to join elections
Moch. N. Kurniawan and Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Banda Aceh
The government should allow the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to contest elections in 2004, Indonesia's chief negotiator for Aceh said Friday.
"We need to find a way to enable GAM to participate in the political process," Wiryono Sastrohandoyo said at a seminar on Aceh held by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
"What we want is to ask them to return as citizens who are able to participate in politics in Indonesia."
Meanwhile in Banda Aceh, the Joint Security Committee (JSC) said it was having difficulty investigating 28 reported ceasefire violations as witnesses were too scared to testify.
The government and GAM agreed to cease hostilities on Dec. 9, 2002, the most important success to date in attempts to end the 26-year-old conflict in the natural resources-rich province.
As the country prepares to hold general elections in 2004, the government must seek ways to include GAM.
Experts have called on the government and the House of Representatives to allow the Achenese to establish their own political parties. The move could also provide a solution to accommodating GAM as a political movement.
The idea is not included in the bill on general elections currently being deliberated by the House.
Wiryono said the government must continue negotiating with GAM over the separatist's demands that they not be tried for alleged human rights abuses.
"One of my duties is negotiating the issue," he said.
He also said the government should speed up its humanitarian assistance to GAM to empower them to get involved in administering Aceh.
Wiryono hoped that Indonesian people started thinking of GAM as a brother and treated them as part of the Indonesian family.
"They were once disappointed and then raised guns against the government ... we must understand their position ... the province has rich natural resources but has received little gain," he said.
He was optimistic peace would finally be realized in Aceh because both Indonesian and GAM forces had a strong commitment to ending hostilities.
Fatalities have dropped from 87 per month to 11 after the signing of the peace agreement, although violence has not ceased totally.
However, former Army deputy chief Lt. Gen. (ret) Kiki Syahnakri told the seminar that allowing GAM to become a political movement would only be another government blunder.
He cited the government's failure to handle the East Timor problem, which ended with the province gaining independence.
Kiki was pessimistic the peace deal would end GAM's rebellion.
As an example, he said GAM had held a public meeting on Jan. 3 to Jan. 5, to, among other things, recruit new military officers and set up a shadow government in every village in Aceh.
"The agreement only reduces the Indonesian Military's power to secure Aceh, but increases the opportunity for GAM to do many things," he said.
At least 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed since GAM began its struggle for independence in 1976.