Mega's visit expected to pave way for peace in Aceh
Mega's visit expected to pave way for peace in Aceh
By Syahruddin Hamzah
BANDA ACEH, Aceh (Antara): President Megawati Soekarnoputri's
planned visit here this week has long been awaited by leaders
from different spectrums of Acehnese society, including the Free
Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels.
The visit is expected to pave the way for a new policy that
will bring peace to Aceh after years of armed conflict involving
the military and GAM.
"We hope that the presence of Ibu Mega will bring new hope in
the efforts to seek a peaceful and thorough settlement to the
Aceh conflict," said Tengku Imam Suja', a community leader in
Aceh.
Megawati is not expected to make extravagant promises because
failure to honor any commitment would result in a loss of
confidence in her administration, as occurred to her predecessors
B.J. Habibie and Abdurrahman Wahid.
Past mistakes have made the Acehnese skeptical about visits by
government officials.
"President Megawati should not make the same mistake if she
really wants to settle the Aceh problem peacefully," Imam Suja'
stressed.
He said Megawati's visit to Aceh will be significant if
violence, killing, kidnapping and looting, which occur in Aceh
almost every day, finally cease.
Aceh Legislative Council security commission speaker M.Nasir
Jamil pointed out that violence in the province of 4.1 million
people had escalated between April and August this year.
He estimated that clashes between the military and separatist
rebels in Aceh had claimed the lives of 500 people in that
period, the disappearance of 40 people and the destruction of
1,000 houses.
During the latest tragedy in Idi Rayeuk, East Aceh, 30 people
were killed and seven others seriously wounded. All the victims
were employees of a plantation company, PT Bumi Flora in Idi
Rayeuk.
Idi Rayeuk was only one of numerous unexplained massacres in
Aceh over the past decade.
State/Cabinet Secretary Bambang Kesowo told the press in
Jakarta on Aug. 28, 2001, that during the planned visit to Aceh
President Megawati would hold a dialog with local people,
including GAM.
"If they (GAM) are prepared to attend the dialog, please
come!" he said, adding that the President had no plan to visit
any regency in the westernmost province.
House Speaker Akbar Tandjung has expressed his hope that
during the Aceh visit the President can find forums for dialog
with the Acehnese aimed at maintaining the unitary state of the
Republic of Indonesia.
Preparedness to talk with all elements in Aceh does not mean
that the government will soften its stance on GAM, according to
Akbar. "We will never tolerate separatist movements," he
stressed.
A House member from Aceh, Nurlif, said that the abundance of
violence in Aceh had made people in the region wonder why the
perpetrators were never known.
He expressed his hope that the President would endeavor to
reveal those responsible for the violence upon her return to
Jakarta from Aceh.
When Megawati visited Aceh just ahead of the 1999 general
election in her capacity as chairwoman of the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle, she pledged to stop bloodshed in
that region. Now Aceh awaits the fulfillment of her promise.