Govt urged to reconsider peaceful solution in Aceh

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

International pressure has been mounting of late for a peaceful and quick settlement of the Aceh war with Germany joining in the call on Tuesday for a return to the negotiating table.

Visiting German Deputy Foreign Minister Kerstin Muller said she would raise the Aceh issue as well as to bring it to the attention of the international community during the Asia Europe Ministerial Meeting (ASEM), slated to be held in Denpasar, Bali next week.

Dialog should be made the number one priority as only it will solve the problems in Aceh, Muller said after a meeting with the chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara.

Both shared their concerns about the gross human rights violations which have reportedly occurred in Aceh since the military offensive against Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels began on May 19 after a five-month truce collapsed.

Muller will represent Germany during the ASEM forum on July 24 and 25, scheduled to be opened by President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Abdul Hakim said dialog between the government and GAM could prevent further abuses against civilians, who have reportedly suffered the most during the ongoing war, but that martial law was still legal.

"We have to admit that the government's decision to impose martial law in Aceh was based on legal considerations. Therefore, whether we like it or not, it can be legally executed there.

"But what we (human rights groups and the international community) are concerned about is the impact of the policy, namely the rights violations that have frequently taken place since martial law was declared in the territory," Hakim stated.

Other countries like Japan and the United States have expressed dismay over the fractured peace agreement signed in December and brokered by a Swiss-based mediator.

Rights activists have estimated that more than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed since 1976 when GAM was formed to carry on Aceh's decades-long struggle for independence. Many have been raped and tortured as the crackdown on rebels has dragged on, they said.

Abdul Hakim made the point that Muller's visit did not mean Germany would try to interfere with Indonesia's domestic affairs. "We were just having a discussion to seek a solution to the Aceh issue," he said.

The German envoy also presented Komnas HAM with newly updated data on rights abuses in Aceh, including extrajudicial killings and rapes.

Asked whether the German official inquired about the fatal shooting of a German tourist, Lothar Hendrik Albert, while he was traveling in Aceh Jaya regency, Abdul Hakim said: "We did not specifically talk about that, but for sure the German government appreciates our country's legal system."