Megawati plans to hold dialog with Acehnese

JAKARTA (JP): President Megawati Soekarnoputri will visit the strife-torn province of Aceh and hold meetings with the Acehnese in the first week of September as part of a bid to quell Acehnese calls for independence.

To underline the importance of dialog rather than resorting to repressive measures, Megawati stated her readiness to address the people of Aceh during the visit.

The visit is intended to form part of an upcoming effort to put an end to separatist sentiment in the province.

"Ibu will visit Aceh and attend a dialog meeting. She may go to the center of Banda Aceh and hold a dialog with the people of Aceh," State Secretary/Cabinet Secretary Bambang Kesowo said on Wednesday.

"The results of the dialog will be used to mark out a path toward the resolution of the Acehnese problem," Bambang said.

He further said that the visit would take place after overseas trips by the President to the nine member countries of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) from Aug. 22 to Aug. 26.

Megawati, at a meeting with Acehnese representatives on Wednesday, stressed that violence was not the way to settle the Aceh question and gave clarifications about the Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Special Autonomy Law that she signed last week.

Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh said after the meeting that they had been expecting the President to come and talk to the Acehnese. "We also want to urge the government to apply the special autonomy law for the province as soon as possible."

Megawati has shown great concern about the resurgence of separatist movements in the country and plans to deal decisively with disintegration problems in Aceh and Irian Jaya.

The special autonomy law, passed by the House of Representatives last month and signed by the President on Aug. 9, provides for the implementation of Islamic Law and larger revenue-sharing in the oil and gas sector.

Abdullah, however, could not say whether the upcoming dialog would involve representatives of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), and also said that so far there had been no reaction from the separatist movement over the planned implementation of the new law.

Separately, Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno said that the government would immediately inform the people and leaders of Aceh of about the new special autonomy law.

After the latest incident in Central Aceh in which 30 civilians were killed by unidentified gunmen in an oil palm plantation ahead of Independence day, tension has once again gripped the province with continuing threats of school closures and public transportation strikes.

Several schools in Banda Aceh have been ordered to close on Aug. 17, Independence Day, so that the students will not have to attend flag-raising ceremonies.

The principal of one state-school disclosed that the caller to his school had not identified himself, but simply ordered the school not to open on Aug. 17.

"When I asked when we could open the school again, the caller just snapped that there must be no school activities on Aug. 17," the school headmaster said as quoted by Antara.

However, it had not yet been decided whether the threats would be heeded, with most schools having announced that students must attend flag-raising ceremonies on Independence Day.

AFP reported that thousands of passengers were stranded when public transport was halted on the routes linking the provincial capital Banda Aceh and the North Sumatran capital of Medan, as bus companies and drivers had been ordered by unidentified persons to stage a three-day strike starting on Wednesday, or otherwise their vehicles would be torched. The callers also said they had erected roadblocks at some locations.

The Indonesian Military (TNI) claimed that GAM were trying to sabotage Independence Day celebrations, and that the TNI planned to send more troops to the province.

"The TNI may send more troops to help the infrastructure establishment in several secure areas in the province," Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said.

Separately, the House has been urged to form a fact-finding team to probe the recent massacre at an oil palm plantation.

"We hope that House leaders will immediately follow up on this demand," legislator Achmad Farhan from Aceh said as quoted by Antara. (dja)