Negotiation the only option for settling Aceh question

Negotiation the only option for settling Aceh question

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Negotiation has emerged as the only option for the government to
resolve the Aceh question after provincial councillors rejected
the imposition of either a civil emergency or martial law there.

Former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid on Thursday urged
the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to return to the
negotiation table, stressing that negotiation was the only way to
put an end to the bloody conflict in Aceh.

"The best solution to the Aceh question is negotiation," Gus
Dur said when asked to comment on the possibility of imposing a
state of emergency in Aceh, where GAM has been fighting for an
independent state since the 1970s.

The administration of President Megawati Soekarnoputri is
considering imposing either a civil emergency or martial law in
Aceh as armed clashes between government troops and GAM members
have risen sharply.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had been sent to Aceh to assess whether
or not the situation there warranted the imposition of a civil
emergency or martial law in the province.

Susilo has been holding a series of meetings with provincial
councillors, non-governmental organizations, and security
personnel, since his arrival there last Tuesday.

Aceh councillors told Susilo on Wednesday that they did not
want the central government to impose either a civil emergency or
martial law in the troubled province.

According to Gus Dur, the military was to blame for the rising
violence in Aceh.

"It is the fault of the military itself. Who is killing people
in Aceh now?" Gus Dur asked provocatively.

Political observer Rizal Sukma from the Centre for Strategic
and International Studies (CSIS) said on Thursday that dialog was
the only solution to end the conflict in Aceh.

"To make the dialog meaningful a monitoring body should be set
up to ensure the implementation of agreements in the field," said
Rizal, adding that the absence of such an agency rendered the
Geneva agreements useless.

During peace talks in Geneva in May, the government and GAM
rebels agreed "to work with all speed on an agreement on the
cessation of hostilities with an adequate mechanism for
accountability of the parties to such an agreement".

Both parties also agreed that an autonomy package offered by
the government for the province could be a starting point for
negotiations on a political settlement.

"In the coming talks, there is an agenda to stop all violence
by 2002 and a mechanism to enforce the agreement in Aceh. We have
to pursue the arrangement," Rizal said.

He also called for prosecution of military personnel
responsible for human rights violations during the 1989-1998
military operation in the province.

"Many Acehnese want to see justice served but so far there is
no assurance that those perpetrators will be punished," said
Rizal, adding that there should be no impunity for military
personnel.

In Banda Aceh, Susilo said on Wednesday evening that three
things needed to be taken into account in settling problems in
the province.

"These are: improving the effectivity of peace restoration
operations, improving the economic welfare of the people, and
redesigning the form of the dialog between the government and GAM
if dialog is still considered necessary," Susilo said without
elaborating.

Asked about the neutrality of the Henry Dunant Centre (HDC),
Susilo said the centre had so far tended to take GAM's side
rather than the government's side.

He noted, after an armed clash takes place between the two
sides, the centre always justifies what GAM has done.

"And thus the role of HDC as facilitator and mediator (of the
dialog between the government and GAM) will be reviewed," he
added.

He also said that many foreign non-governmental organizations
operating in Aceh in cooperation with local NGOs were against the
government.

"It indicates that these NGOs tend to take sides with GAM. We
do not reject them, but (we only hope) they won't take sides," he
added.

Aceh has been facing the separatist movement for more than 25
years, during which thousands of people have been killed. Last
year, more than 1,600 people were killed in Aceh, including
rebels, civilians and security personnel.

The government has granted oil-rich Aceh special autonomy
status, which gives the province greater powers to manage its own
affairs, including the authority to implement syariah (Islamic
law).