President Gus Dur to delay Aceh visit until Dec. 19
JAKARTA (JP): The government announced on Tuesday that President Abdurrahman Wahid's planned visit to the volatile province of Aceh would be delayed by four days to Dec. 19.
Abdurrahman was initially scheduled to travel to the western tip of Sumatra on his way back from Bangkok on Dec. 15.
"I told the President that it would be better if he makes a special trip to Aceh directly from Jakarta rather than stopping there on his way back from Bangkok," Minister of Defense Mahfud MD said after meeting the President at Merdeka Palace.
"It (the initial schedule) would create an impression that the President was not serious and only stopping by in Aceh. That's why it has been agreed that the President will visit Aceh on December 19," he added.
Presidential spokesman Wimar Witoelar said earlier that the Aceh visit would be made on Abdurrahman's return to Jakarta from Bangkok, where he is scheduled to receive an honorary doctorate from the ASEAN Institute of Technology.
Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh said on Monday that during the visit, Abdurrahman was scheduled to impose Islamic law in the province.
The President is also scheduled to witness a ceremony to mark the handover of government funds worth Rp 100 billion (US$10.6 million) for the Aceh economic recovery program.
The program for Aceh was announced by Jakarta two days before the 24th anniversary of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) on Monday.
GAM has been fighting for independence in the restive province since 1976.
Mahfud said on Monday that he could not explain the strength of the GAM forces but "if the government is willing to take tough measures, they (GAM members) could be easily overcome in a short time".
The government was not intent on taking stern measures, and solutions to the Aceh problem will still be sought through political dialog, he said.
He added, however, that "there is a limit to dialogs and the government has set a January 15 deadline" for it to consider a new policy.
When pressed whether military operations would be launched to crack down on the separatist rebels in Aceh if the government and rebels fail to meet the deadline, Mahfud said: "Military action will be our last resort. There are still steps that can be taken after the deadline."
Truce
Meanwhile, a reliable source close to the Cabinet told The Jakarta Post that the government had decided to stop the humanitarian pause in Aceh during a Cabinet meeting on Nov. 23. He said the government "has been frustrated" by GAM's lack of determination to negotiate.
"In the meeting, which was also attended by military representatives, the government requested to allow a military operation and it should immediately be conducted," the source said.
"If the government and GAM fail to meet for further talks by Jan. 15, we might impose a state of civil emergency on Aceh.
"It would be increased to a state of military emergency two days after that," he said.
He said non-governmental organization activists, students and ulemas would be the first to be controlled before the military would overpower GAM's office. (02)