Military and GAM have their own preconditions for upcoming peace talks

Ibnu Mat Noor, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

The tension is likely to continue in conflict-torn Aceh as the government military and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) are still sharply divided over the preconditions for the upcoming Geneva talks meant to put an end to the prolonged conflict in the province.

GAM insisted that its stance was firm -- that a cease-fire be in place before talks resumed -- but the military stated that it would continue its operations unabated against suspected GAM targets.

Col. Syarifudin Tippe, chief of staff for the Aceh-based Iskandar Muda Military Command, made it quite clear that the peace talks scheduled for April 25 and 26, 2002, would not bring any change to the military's security restoration operation that had been in effect for the past two years.

"The military operation will continue to create a feeling of safety among local people and to restore security and order in this region," he claimed.

He added that GAM needed to first comply with the security authorities' instructions if it wanted a cease-fire.

Tippe also said the planned peace talks only should be held in the context of Indonesia as a unitary state, which included Aceh.

Sofyan Ibrahim Tiba, a negotiator for GAM at the Geneva talks, said a cease-fire was impossible as long as the military continued with its offensive.

"Both sides need to stop their own offensives to have a cease- fire and end the violence ... A truce is a preliminary condition for both sides to make peace; and the truce must be supervised by an international peace-keeping force," he asserted.

Tiba said he and the four other GAM negotiators would continue to propose an unconditional cease-fire in the upcoming meeting to let the international community know that GAM was committed to ending the conflict and creating peace in the province.

He said he and four other negotiators would leave for Jakarta this week to apply for visas at the Embassy of Switzerland.

Tiba's colleagues are Tengku Muhammad Usman, Ammi Ahmad Marzuki, Amdi Hamdani and Teuku Kamaruzzaman.

Asked to comment on the government's condition for the dialog, Tiba said there was no need for the sides to talk at all if the meeting was held strictly within the framework of a unitary state which included Aceh.

"The Aceh conflict will never end if the government and military continue to force their conditions that Aceh is an integral part of Indonesia. We are fighting against the military which has killed our people, and fighting for Aceh's independence," he said.

He challenged the government to allow the Acehnese people to be granted a self-determination referendum, saying it would show what Acehnese people really wanted -- whether they support the military or GAM.

He said a majority of people have been living in a state of fear since the military launched the security restoration operation two years ago, as well as the previous operations dating back to the 1970s.

"During this current military operation, thousands of innocent civilians, including elite figures, have been killed," he said.

He also said the Indonesian government should meet its own promise to bring to court all servicemen involved in human rights abuses and to speed up the development program to improve the people's social welfare.

Muhammad Nasir Jamil, chairman of Commission A on defense and security affairs at the Aceh provincial legislature, called on GAM and the military to agree to a cease-fire as a necessary pre- condition for peace in the war-torn province.

"A majority of Acehnese people have suffered extreme grief during the prolonged conflict. They want to live in peace and go about their daily lives peacefully," he said.