Govt speeds up autonomy, special status for Aceh

JAKARTA (JP): Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security Gen. Wiranto said the government would speed up the implementation of newly enacted laws on autonomy and on the status of Aceh as a special territory in an attempt to quell rising political dissatisfaction in the restive province.

Speaking to journalists after attending a plenary Cabinet meeting in Bina Graha presidential office on Saturday, Gen. Wiranto said the laws would guarantee greater self-rule and larger shares from the province's oil and gas revenues to be allocated to the people.

He said the government would soon launch an intensive campaign to familiarize the laws and the benefits people could gain from its implementation.

"If necessary we will explain their benefits in figures," Gen. Wiranto said.

Gen. Wiranto did not mention the necessity of imposing limited martial law in Aceh as was proposed by outgoing Army chief Gen. Subagyo Hadisiswoyo and National Police chief Gen. Roesmanhadi.

"As a comparison, the relationship between the central government and Aceh is like that of a father and his children, there are always problems between them," he said of the growing calls for independence in the province.

He appealed to the Acehnese to remain calm and help ensure a soothing atmosphere which would help durable operations in vital industries in the province, namely the Arun Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant and the Iskandar Muda fertilizer plant.

He warned of severe national economic repercussions if the operations of those two facilities were disturbed, noting that they could stop operating if the situation deteriorated.

"Imagine if, for instance, the LNG supply to Japan, which is used for the power supply in a city there, is suddenly halted. Of course, after that they would not want to continue buying from us," Gen. Wiranto said.

Meanwhile, Minister of Human Rights Hasballah M. Saad once again gave a stern warning to his colleagues in the military and police against imposing martial law in his native province, saying it would only invite hostility and trigger new violence.

"Martial law would only invite hostility and would not help us reach the peaceful objectives we want to reach," Hasballah said before attending the plenary Cabinet meeting.

He further warned that martial law would ruin any chance of a peaceful solution to the delicate problem. "The chance for dialog would be finished. That means the problem would then be solved through violence," he remarked.

U.S.

In a related development, visiting United States Ambassador to the United Nations Richard Holbrooke Sunday opposed calls for martial law in troubled Aceh province.

Holbrooke said the Clinton administration strongly opposed calls by some Indonesian officials - including the national police chief - that martial law be imposed to quell growing separatism in the oil-rich region.

"In this argument about martial law, the United States is encouraged and supportive of President Gus Dur's stated opposition to such an action," Holbrooke told reporters at the end of a two-day visit to Jakarta.

"But opposition to martial law should not be read by people at the extremes in Aceh as saying they have a license to create chaos and confrontation," he was quoted as saying by AP.

But Holbrooke warned against drawing parallels with Yugoslavia's violent breakup.

"I do understand why people make the comparison, but the differences are absolutely critical," he said. "Indonesian culture could not be more different than the culture of the Balkans, and cultural factors matter."

Holbrooke and Assistant Secretary of State Stanley Roth flew to West Timor later on Sunday to look at refugee camps housing hundreds of thousands of East Timorese who fled the violence.

Holbrooke and Roth are due to go to East Timor on Monday.

Meanwhile in Medan, North Sumatra, some 700 Acehnese residing there held a gathering at the city's Heroes Cemetery on Saturday to express their support for a referendum in their native province.

"All elements of the Aceh community living in Medan will attend the gathering to show their support for a referendum," said Rina Syamsuddin, a proreferendum activist in Medan.

People from all walks of life arrived for the evening gathering, mostly wearing white bandanas with the words "referendum" inscribed.

Using the local Aceh dialect, community figures took turns expressing support for the referendum, while people showed their support by signing a giant white canvas prepared by organizers.

The coordinator of the gathering, Fuady Sony, stated several demands, which included a referendum in Aceh before 2000 and a rejection of the imposition of martial law.(prb/39)