No more talks with GAM, says minister

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Defense Mahfud MD said on Wednesday there would be no further negotiations with the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) after the expiration of a humanitarian pause on Jan. 15.

Mahfud maintained the government would only negotiate with "Aceh (community) figures", and if GAM representatives wished to continue talks they must do so in this context.

"After Jan. 15 there will be no more negotiations with GAM," Mahfud said after attending a ceremony at the State Place to inaugurate Taufik as deputy chief of the Supreme Court.

His comments came on the heels of President Abdurrahman Wahid's brief visit to the troubled province on Tuesday, during which he pledged a more peaceful approach to resolving the Aceh issue, within the context of the unitary state of Indonesia.

During the visit, Abdurrahman also signaled that talks between the government and GAM would continue despite the end of the humanitarian pause in January.

Mahfud claimed on Wednesday the government had been in talks with Acehnese community figures who wished to remain anonymous.

The minister said that in this context, GAM representatives could participate in the talks.

The Humanitarian Pause, which was signed in Geneva in May and extended for three months in September, will not be extended again, Mahfud asserted. He did not touch on the possibility of the resumption of military operations in the province.

When it extended the accord in September, the government said it was doing so on the condition that substantive talks begin on resolving the problems in the province under the context of Aceh remaining part of Indonesia.

In Stockholm, GAM separatist leader Tengku Hasan di Tiro said talks with Indonesian officials were set to resume next week.

"I will be in Geneva next week, there are very many things going on there," he said as quoted by AFP.

Hasan di Tiro said he would not personally meet with any Indonesian officials, but "somebody from my organization will meet with them next week in Geneva".

He declined to elaborate on the substance of the planned discussions.

Commenting on Abdurrahman's visit to the province, he said there was "not at all" a chance it would help stabilize the situation there.

"The problem is Indonesia," he said. "Indonesia is not a country at all, it is the empire of the Dutch."

Sooner or later, Indonesia is bound to break up "because the people ... want to go their separate ways", he said. "We want to go our way."

On the likelihood the humanitarian pause would not be reextended, he said "we will see if there is a big war" after the agreement expires next month.

Kopassus

In Jakarta, National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Saleh Saaf said on Wednesday Mobile Brigade (Brimob) personnel were being trained by the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) for guerrilla operations against rebels.

"The training of the Brimob personnel in guerrilla tactics has been limited to law enforcement operations, not combat operations against armed groups who employ good guerrilla techniques," Saleh said at National Police Headquarters.

Saleh has repeatedly said a military operation was necessary to overcome GAM. "The separatist movement in Aceh is already so strong."

"But it still depends on the government's decision since we can't insist that a military operation be undertaken. That's why we are training our Brimob personnel."

The training is taking place at Brimob headquarters in Kelapa Dua, Bogor.

Meanwhile in Banda Aceh, violence again flared, claiming the lives of nine people in separate incidents.

North Aceh Police spokesman Asst. Supt. Abdi Darmawan said locals found seven bodies and a seriously injured man on Wednesday morning at separate locations where GAM rebels had allegedly operated on Tuesday evening.

Three of the bodies, including that of police Sgt. Maj. Imam Subagyo, were found in three separate locations in Cot Gapu village, Jeumpa district. Two of the victims had their throats slit.

Four other bodies, bearing shot wounds, were found in Pulo Baro village, Samalanga district, Abdi said.

He added that residents of Bugeng village, Peudada district, found a man lying in the street in critical condition.

Meanwhile, the deputy spokesman of the Cinta Meunasah police operation, Supt. Yatim Suyatmo, said a police officer, identified as Pvt. Rusliniddun, was shot to death by a rebel in Blang village, East Langsa district, East Aceh, on Tuesday evening.

"He was buying cigarettes at a kiosk when a rebel fired three shots at him, killing him on the spot," he said.

In another location, Suyatmo said a man he claimed to be a GAM rebel was killed during a gunfight in Kuta Lawah village, Idi district, East Aceh.

"Police officers were conducting a routine patrol when their vehicle was ambushed by GAM rebels, leading to a gunfight."

However, residents of the village said the deceased was a public transportation driver who was shot and killed by police on Tuesday afternoon during a heated dispute that also involved three other drivers. (50/lup/jaw)