Mega pledges to improve conditions in Aceh

Ibnu Mat Noor and Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

President Megawati Soekarnoputri pledged to do her best to restore security and prosperity to the Acehnese people on Wednesday but offered no solution to the long-running armed conflict between government troops and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

In a speech marking the launching of new Acehnese airline Seulawah NAD Air at Banda Aceh's Sultan Iskandar Muda Airport, Megawati said that it was her wish that the people of Aceh could lead safe and peaceful lives.

"I will do whatever I can do to always be with the people of Aceh in building a safe, peaceful, prosperous and progressive life within the context of the integrity of the our nation," Megawati said in front of hundreds of Acehnese dignitaries, religious leaders and other invitees at the airport.

She failed, however, to spell out any new course of action that her administration would take in dealing with the secessionist group GAM, suggesting that her government would continue to use force to quell the rebels.

Over 10,000 innocent people are believed to have been killed since GAM began its struggle for independence in 1976, and all efforts to find a comprehensive, peaceful settlement have failed as both parties insisted on sticking to their own stances.

Megawati visited Aceh, her second visit after ascending to the presidency in July 2001, to launch Seulawah NAD Air, a joint venture between the Aceh provincial administration and Transmile, a Malaysian cargo airline. She first visited Aceh as President in September 2001.

She landed at Sultan Iskandar Muda Airport at 1:30 p.m. on board a chartered flight. She was accompanied by her husband Taufik Kiemas and Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

At least two battalions of police -- around 1,300 personnel -- were deployed to guard the airport. Just hours before Megawati's arrival, two home-made bombs went off near the airport.

Megawati and her entourage never left the airport, apparently due to the worsening security condition in the area.

Megawati stayed for slightly over one hour at the airport during which time she also symbolically opened the fourth congress of traditional Acehnese leaders.

Rain fell on some 200 highschool students who performed a welcoming dance on the tarmac, and only subsided after Megawati had finished her speech.

The president apologized for the short visit and promised to return and visit the resource-rich province at the tip of Sumatra island for a longer period to see other areas in Aceh, and if possible, stay overnight.

Acehnese students belonging to a group called the Students Coalition for a Peaceful Aceh (KAMADA) condemned Megawati's visit, saying that her presence did not address Acehnese people's interests or the settlement of the conflict in the province.

"Megawati's one-hour visit is a waste of state resources which could have been spent on public welfare programs," student activist Fadil said.

He regretted the fact that Megawati did not hold a dialog with local people in order to find solutions to the current problems in Aceh.

The students also criticized Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh's decision to set up an airline company, saying that the Acehnese people needed land transportation and electricity, not airplanes.

"How many Acehnese can afford to take a plane?" Fadil asked, adding that the presence of the airline company created the false impressions that the situation there was already improving.

Governor Abdullah said earlier that the Seulawah Nanggroe Aceh Darusalam Airline would relieve Aceh's isolation and open up direct business contacts with other ASEAN countries.

The Aceh administration has allocated Rp 30 billion (US$3.4 million) for the airline's operations.

Seulawah NAD Air, which currently has only one airplane, will serve the Banda Aceh-Medan-Jakarta-Banda Aceh route twice a day.

Megawati's visit was preceded hours earlier by the explosion of two home-made bombs within a distance of seven kilometers from the heavily guarded airport.

"There heard the sound of bombs twice, home-made bombs," Aceh military commander Brig. Gen. Jali Yusuf was quoted by AFP as saying earlier Wednesday.

He said one exploded in the Ulee Karing area seven kilometers west of the airport late on Tuesday while another blew up around 7:00 a.m. in Kuta Baru, five kilometers southwest of the airport.

"They were both home-made bombs," Yusuf said, adding that there were no immediate reports of injuries.