Megawati plans to hold dialog with Acehnese

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)