Henry Dunant Center denies espionage accusation
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja The Jakarta Post Jakarta
The Switzerland-based Henry Dunant Center denied on Friday all accusations that the institution was siding with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), and that its office in Banda Aceh had become a spy center for the secessionist group.
An official from the center also told The Jakarta Post by telephone on Friday that they had not received any formal complaint from the government over its activities in Aceh.
"We just heard about it (the accusation) from the news, we have not been officially notified," the official said.
Asked if the center did espionage work for GAM, the official said: "Definitely no."
Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono questioned the center's activities in Aceh on Wednesday and suggested that its role in peace talks between the Indonesian government and GAM should be "reviewed".
According to the Henry Dunant Center official, some GAM members had been staying in the hotel where its local office was situated in Banda Aceh.
"However, they (GAM members) are there just like anybody else, it's a hotel," the official said.
Susilo is currently visiting Aceh to evaluate whether or not the situation there warrants the imposition of either civil emergency or martial law in the province, where GAM has been fighting for independence since the 1970s and the Acehnese have been striving for freedom for centuries.
The administration of President Megawati Soekarnoputri has been considering imposing a state of emergency in the province as violence and lawlessness worsen due to increasing armed contact between government troops and GAM fighters.
The plan, however, has continued to receive strong opposition from politicians and public figures both in Jakarta and Aceh.
Aceh councillors warned the central government on Wednesday against imposing a state of emergency in the province, arguing that the move would only worsen the security conditions there.
In Jakarta, former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid urged both the government and GAM fighters to return to the negotiating table to prevent more bloodshed.
Earlier Susilo labeled the secessionist movement a terrorist group.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda, meanwhile, said on Friday that the fact that GAM members and Henry Dunant Center officials stayed in the same hotel could have triggered the accusation that the institution was favoring the rebels.
He, however, said that the GAM members should have left the hotel immediately after the government froze a joint-commission for security.
"They should have left the commission's office a long time ago," the minister said after meeting President Megawati at the State Palace.
He also said that the Indonesian government expected the Henry Dunant Center to work in the restive province within the parameters of its mandate.
"So far the work of the center as a facilitator is okay, but as the host country, we urge the members to limit their activities to their mandate," the minister said.
He added that so far both the government and GAM had yet to decide upon the details for the planned all-inclusive dialog originally scheduled to take place this month.
"We have yet to meet to discuss the mechanism for the dialog," he said without elaborating.