Peace talks in question as govt readies new Aceh policy

Berni k. Moestafa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Amid a deteriorating security situation in Aceh, a former Aceh advisor to the government urged it not to let the ongoing violence derail peace talks when it announces its new policy for the restive province today.

"Aceh is a complex problem. The government shouldn't get emotional over the violence there. It must remain patient and stay consistent," former advisor Bachtiar Aly said Sunday.

After a two-week delay, the government plans to announce today a new policy that it is hoped will end the conflict with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), and its struggle for independence since 1976.

Acehnese and activists have appealed to the government to refrain from more military operations, fearing a repeat of the 10 years of atrocities when Aceh was designated a Military Operations Area (DOM) from 1989 to 1998.

On Sunday, a crowd of some 150 rallied at the province's Iskandar Muda Military Command headquarters to reject a military approach, Antara reported.

But Aceh Military Commander Maj. Gen. M. Djali Yusuf vowed Sunday that he would intensify clandestine activities to better locate GAM groups in a move to avoid more civilian casualties.

A state of civil emergency would lend the Indonesian Military (TNI) greater control, but unlike under a state of martial law, the province would remain under civilian rule.

Also on Sunday, at least 5,000 people paraded in Banda Aceh to celebrate the country's independence day, dealing a blow to GAM, a rebel group that has been waging a bloody 26-year war for independence.

Many of those participating in the parade were families waving red-and-white national flags. Others took to the streets in colorfully decorated trucks and buses, Associated Press reported from Banda Aceh.

According to Bachtiar, the government was committed to a political solution of which better security was a part. Other aspects included economic development and the restoration of law and order. Yet, of all these, security had been propelled to the forefront on the back of the flagrant violence, he said.

Peace talks have been underway for about two years. But the last round of talks in May faltered as one of the preconditions for further talks -- the cessation of all hostilities -- was met with increased violence instead.

On Saturday and the night before, shootings and bomb blasts marked the celebration of Indonesia's 57th independence day.

Dozens of civilians were wounded, and the military accused GAM to be responsible for the violence.

Jakarta branded GAM as a terrorist organization for the first time in June, and the imposition of a state of civil emergency in Aceh may be imminent.

Bachtiar, who joined the talks with GAM and is a political observer from the University of Indonesia, said reviving a military operation in Aceh would risk the progress that had been made so far with the movement.

Last May, GAM accepted Jakarta's special autonomy offer in a deal, he said, which marked a major shift away from its demand for independence.

But government officials, including Coordinating Minister for Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, said GAM had not accepted the autonomy package as yet.

Jakarta insists that GAM must accepts the autonomy package first before talks can resume.

Analysts said the separatists were also coming under pressure from the international community, which did not want an independent Aceh providing support for other regions demanding the same.

Now, Minister Susilo expects to end the conflict by 2004, before the general election that will see the end of this administration.

But TNI chief Endriartono said a one or two-year plan for Aceh was too long. And a source at the military said they would like to see the government set a three-month deadline for GAM to accept the autonomy offer after which the military would "wipe them out".

Bachtiar called the 2004 time target viable only if the government stuck to the agenda set forth in the peace talks -- including ending the hostilities this year.

"Just because violence continues after a deal has been reached doesn't mean that we can't stop it," he said. "As in any conflict, there are hard-liners who profit from sustaining the violence."

He cited arms smugglers, marijuana growers and illegal loggers, all of whom were profiting from the conflict and the ensuing slack law enforcement.

Some Aceh observers have long noted that rogue elements within the TNI and GAM were behind these illegal businesses, making the TNI a part of the problem.

Bachtiar said the government should focus on identifying these rogue elements, and he expected GAM do the same with its members.