Negotiator urges govt to give Aceh peace talks a chance
Negotiator urges govt to give Aceh peace talks a chance
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesia's chief Aceh negotiator has urged the government to
maintain its dialogue with rebels in the restive province as
Coordinating Minister for Security Affairs Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono arrived there to assess whether a state of emergency
was needed.
Separately, Indonesia's second largest Muslim organization
Muhammadiyah said it opposed the growing military operation in
Aceh, citing that dialogue with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) was
still possible.
"All tension must ease. Right now we need a dialogue," chief
negotiator Wiryono Sastrohandoyo was quoted as saying by Antara.
Concerns have grown that the government will put the province
under a state of civil, or even military emergency, in a move
critics said would only stoke more violence.
The government last week called GAM for the first time a
terrorist group, signaling a shift from its diplomatic approach.
According to Minister Bambang, the negotiations with GAM were
now pointless. He said the ongoing talks with the separatists had
not helped reduce the violence in Aceh. Instead, violence had
increased.
Last month, five members of the air force were shot dead in an
ambush by GAM forces. The recent kidnapping of nine Indonesian
athletes and the nine crew members of a boat contracted by
American oil and gas company PT Exxon Mobil Indonesia Inc is
believed to have triggered Bambang's outburst last week.
Analysts said the government's harsher stance may rest on its
believe that GAM was a weakened force, allowing it to discount
the negotiations option.
GAM is also seen gaining little support from the international
community. Instead, pressure prevails for it to surrender its
independence goal and accept a special autonomy package instead.
Still, Wiryono urged the government not to give up hope on the
negotiations, but said tension in the province must be reduced
for the talks to be fruitful.
He suggested the government review its law on Nangroe Aceh
Darussalam, which grants the province special autonomy status.
"Reviewing the law should be meant to accommodate the
aspirations of all of Aceh's people under a better legal
framework," he said.
The government has made recognition of the autonomy law a
precondition for future talks. However GAM is still pursuing its
dream of independence.
Minister Bambang arrived in Aceh for a four-day visit to seek
local input while mulling over the imposition of a state of
emergency in the province.
The government and the military have been campaigning for the
proclamation of a civil emergency in Aceh, with some even
suggesting the imposition of martial law.
In the latest development, Iskandar Muda (Aceh) Military
Commander Maj. Gen. Djali Yusuf said on Tuesday he had asked
Jakarta to send an additional four battalions of troops to Aceh.
A state of military emergency, or martial law, means that
civilian control is surrendered to the military -- a situation
activists say means giving the Indonesian Military (TNI) carte
blanche to commit further human rights abuses.
One level below martial law is a state of civilian emergency,
where the governor retains control.
But in both cases, civil rights are trimmed to the minimum.
This means, among other things, cutting the flow of information
from the province, conducting raids and banning mass gatherings.
Bambang said he wanted to meet the Acehnese and hear directly
from them what they thought about the current situation and what
the government should do.
"We don't want to make mistakes ... we can't distance
ourselves from this," Bambang told a meeting at the gubernatorial
offices.
Bambang said earlier that any decision on Aceh would have to
be supported by legislators.
National legislators have already lent their support for a
military operation, following a hearing with Army Chief of Staff
Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu last month.
Activists, however, have warned against launching a military
operation, reasoning it would inflict more casualties among the
civilian population.
Vice Chairman of the Muhammadiyah central board Din Syamsuddin
appealed to the government to initiate a dialog with the rebels,
warning of the adverse impact a military operation would have on
Acehnese people.
In the nearly three decades of GAM's struggle, civilians have
mostly been at the receiving end of the fighting with government
forces.
Although data on the number of deaths has always been sketchy,
over the past six months the fighting in Aceh is believed to have
killed more than 400 people, mostly civilians.
Munir, a rights activist and co-founder of the National
Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras),
criticized politicians for succumbing to the military pressure to
sideline the peace talks in Aceh.