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.