JP/4/GAM

JP/4/GAM

Annastashya Emmanuelle
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

Indonesia is likely to halt future peace talks with the Free Aceh
Movement (GAM) should the secessionist movement persist with its
agenda of seceding from Indonesia.

While acknowledging that the Indonesia-GAM conflict was a
complex issue due to the basic difference in political stances
thus making it difficult to resolve the matter quickly, the
Indonesian government would review the outcome of the current
negotiations if there was any move from GAM in the direction of
the government's proposals.

"We'll see if there's any seriousness on GAM's part. If not,
then I would have to agree with the idea of stopping (further
negotiations)," Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda told
reporters after meeting President Megawati Soekarnoputri on
Friday at the State Palace.

The Free Aceh Movement, even while it continued to demand
independence, agreed at the previous talks in February to use the
special autonomy status granted to Aceh as the basis for future
negotiations.

Meanwhile, the government will only agree to a solution which
comes within the framework of the Unitary Republic of Indonesia.

Hassan also said that last year GAM had agreed to the
government's proposal for an all inclusive dialogue, comprising
elements of the Acehnese people and GAM, as part of the effort to
seek peace in the resource-rich province.

"GAM agreed (last year), but the implementation is yet to take
place in Banda Aceh especially ... in this process, the
negotiations in Switzerland will only be held occasionally to
review the domestic talks," he explained, while adding that GAM
was still considered to be a secessionist movement, although the
peace negotiations were being handled by the Department of
Foreign Affairs along with the Ministry of Political and Security
Affairs instead of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

On Thursday, Indonesia and GAM resume their peace talks in
Geneva, Switzerland, which will take place over two days.

Previously, both Hassan and the Coordinating Minister for
Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that
GAM would not gain international support should they continue to
push for an independent state.

Despite the long-running talks between Indonesia and GAM,
various human rights abuses are still reportedly talking place in
Aceh, giving rise to greater distrust among the Acehnese people
of the security apparatus there.

More than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have died since the
low-level guerrilla campaign to turn the province into an
independent state began in 1976, with more than 400 having died
so far this year alone.

In February, Susilo also expressed the government's reluctance
to proceed with negotiations, saying that the government might
give up on seeking a solution through dialogue should GAM
continue to reject the special autonomy package and aspire to
separate from Indonesia.