Govt talks peace but continues siege in Aceh

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Lhokseumawe

A government negotiator has called on the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to cool down as military personnel tightened their siege on a rebel headquarters at Cot Trieng village in North Aceh.

Wiryono Sastrohandoyo said on Wednesday that the government was ready to sign a landmark peace agreement with GAM, but warned that the siege could seriously affect the plan.

"When the guns are not silent, diplomacy is silent," Wiryono told The Jakarta Post.

The government, according to Wiryono, had proposed Nov. 23, or the 17th day of the fasting month of Ramadhan, as the new date for the signing of the peace agreement, but GAM has yet to respond to the proposal.

The government had wanted to sign the peace accord before the fasting month started on Nov. 6, but GAM delayed it until after the Idul Fitri celebrations, which fall on Dec. 6 and Dec. 7.

The rebels, instead, offered a cease-fire, but the government refused to recognize it and continued hunting down the rebels.

Top security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Wednesday that the government was surprised that the rebels were considering backing out of the deal. Susilo spoke in Aceh on a visit to revive the negotiations.

Wiryono stressed that negotiations would only work if both sides were placed in a win-win situation and not if either of the sides felt defeated.

"However, I understand that the government has the obligation to maintain law and order in the province," Wiryono said.

"It may be seen that way because the Indonesian government's policy is to sign the cessation of hostilities agreement as quickly as possible," he said as quoted by AFP.

"In principle, now the government is trying extremely hard so that the problem can be resolved peacefully," Vice President Hamzah Haz told reporters Wednesday.

Meanwhile, government troops tightened their siege on a rebel hideout in Cot Trieng village on Wednesday, with troops setting up posts every 50 meters. Each post is manned by seven soldiers in full combat gear.

"The GAM fighters are hiding in this swampy area," Lilawangsa Military Commander A.Y. Nasution told a group of reporters invited to observe the siege on Wednesday.

Lt. Col. Oppie Ones told The Jakarta Post that his troops had been surrounding the GAM headquarters since Oct. 25.

Aceh rebels threatened to back off from signing the peace deal if the military continued the siege.

"The military are using terror tactics to bully us into agreeing to the peace deal," rebel negotiator Tengku Kamaruzaman was quoted by AP as saying on Wednesday.

"We should go to the negotiating table voluntarily. It is only natural that we are wary of signing."

Under the proposed peace agreement, the government wants the rebels to hand over their weapons, a term they oppose.

On Monday, the military launched a rocket attack on the guerrilla hideout to pressure the rebel leadership into signing the agreement. There were no reports of injuries.

Military chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said earlier that soldiers would continue the siege until the rebels signed the agreement.

International negotiators have nonetheless expressed optimism that the talks scheduled for later this month could result in a major breakthrough.

Several foreign observers arrived on Tuesday to start preparations for the setting up of a 150-member joint committee to oversee the deal if it is signed.

The committee -- which will also include 50 mostly ex-military representatives from European and Southeast Asian countries -- will publish weekly reports and designate certain schools, mosques and other facilities as demilitarized zones, according to the proposal.

The terms of the deal, being mediated by the Geneva-based Henry Dunant Centre for Humanitarian Dialog, are believed to include more autonomy for the province's 4 million people and elections for a provincial legislature and administration.

The government has also offered an amnesty for rebel fighters.

GAM has been fighting for independence since 1975. At least 12,000 people have been killed in the past decade, including some 1,500 people this year.