No freedom for Aceh, Irian Jaya: Susilo
No freedom for Aceh, Irian Jaya: Susilo
JAKARTA (JP): The unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia
is final, so there is no opportunity for Aceh and Irian Jaya to
become independent, Coordinating Minister for Political, Social
and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Monday.
Responding to journalists' questions of a plan by certain
parties' to declare Irian Jaya and Aceh independent on Dec. 1 and
Dec. 4 respectively, Yudhoyono said a meeting on the issue would
be held on Tuesday night.
He made the statements after a Cabinet meeting presided over
by Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri at Bina Graha
presidential office.
He also said he had reported the plan of the meeting to
President Abdurrahman Wahid.
"There will be no possibilities for them (Aceh and Irian Jaya)
to become independent and separate from Indonesia. The unitary
state of the Republic of Indonesia is final," Antara quoted him
as saying.
Pressure from separatist groups in Aceh and Irian Jaya have
grown stronger from time to time.
Efforts to seek international support have been made by the
Acehnese and Irianese who are campaigning for independence.
The government has made several efforts to curb the Free Aceh
Movement (GAM)'s rebellious actions. Humanitarian pauses have
been agreed by the government and GAM, however, violence has
continued.
Separately, researcher of the National Institute of Sciences
(LIPI) Dewi Fortuna Anwar said the government could grant amnesty
to the Acehnese (rebels) if a political approach failed to stop
the demand for independence.
"The government could set certain terms for the Acehnese to
surrender and they would be forgiven," Dewi said.
If the response was weak, the government has the right to
protect itself from these groups by conducting military
operations, Dewi said.
In the era of former president Soekarno, a rebellion of the
Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia (PRRI-
Permesta), which declared its independence in 1958, also received
amnesty, Dewi said.
Latest tension
Tension has been escalating in Indrapuri district, Aceh Besar
regency, since Sunday.
The worry that clashes between GAM and security forces will
erupt in the area has forced more people to seek refuge at the
Chik Di Tiro building and Provincial Council compound in Banda
Aceh, an activist said on Monday.
Syamsul Bahri, an activist for the refugee board, said more
people left their homes following the security officers' search
for members of GAM.
He said 10,300 people from 21 villages in Indrapuri district
had flooded the refugee camps since Sunday.
"We have received reports that security officers had stormed
and fired sporadic shots at residents' homes, too," he said.
Meanwhile, chairman of the Information Center for Aceh
Referendum (SIRA) Moh. Nazar, went to the Aceh Besar Police
station to answer a police summons on Monday.
He is accused of creating public disorder by urging SIRA
supporters to wave banners calling Indonesia a new colonialist,
during the commemoration of Indonesia's Independence Day on Aug.
17.
Nazar was accompanied by his lawyers Johnson Panjaitan from
the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) with
several representatives of the Coalition of Non-Governmental
Organizations on Human Rights and SIRA.
Separately, two members of the Jakarta chapter of the National
Commission on Human Rights, Albert Hasibuan and Muhammad Salim,
accompanied by an activist of the commission's Aceh office, Iqbal
Farabi, arrived in Banda Aceh on Monday to gather information
about the violence prior to the Mass Gathering for Peace
on Nov. 11.
During their trip to Bandar Dua district in Pidie regency,
some 170 kilometers east of Banda Aceh, the bus carrying the
activists was attacked by unidentified men, but no injuries were
reported. (02/50/lup/sur)