Henry Dunant Center denies espionage accusation

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.