President set to hold dialog with Aceh leaders on Tuesday
President set to hold dialog with Aceh leaders on Tuesday
JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid is expected to hold
a dialog with Acehnese leaders during a one-day visit to Sabang
off the province's coast on Tuesday.
A government official who attended an inter-ministry meeting
to prepare the dialog said on Friday that Sabang was chosen as
the venue for security reasons because it is isolated from the
mainland of Sumatra.
"The decision to go to Aceh is final unless the President
suddenly changes his mind," the official, who spoke on the
condition of anonymity, told The Jakarta Post.
According to the official, the President has insisted on
meeting as many Acehnese leaders as possible, including Free Aceh
Movement (GAM) military commander Tengku Abdullah Syafi'ie and
proindependence student groups such as Taleban.
"The President has ordered Aceh's governor to arrange the
meeting," the official added.
The visit to Sabang would be only a few days before the
planned trial of 18 military personnel and two civilians for the
alleged murder of 65 people in West Aceh last July.
Located on Weh Island on the northern tip of Sumatra, the port
town of Sabang has a population of about 24,000 and was a bonded
zone between 1970 and 1985.
Abdurrahman is also expected to announce the reimposition of
the status during the visit.
The disclosure that the President intends to meets with rebel
leaders such as Syafi'ie has been taken by many as a glaring
indication of the lack of cohesion within the government.
Security forces in the past week launched powerful attacks
against suspected rebel strongholds, with the specific objective
of capturing the rebel commander.
Sporadic rebel attacks continued in the province on Friday,
with a policeman killed and four others injured in Central and
East Aceh.
Suspected rebels ambushed a truckload of Police Mobile Brigade
personnel on their way from Timang Gajah Police post to Takengon.
Local police chief Lt. Col. Misik Natari on Friday identified
the dead man as Pvt. Sutoyo.
"The attackers fled the scene into the jungle," Misik said.
In East Aceh, rebels intercepted a convoy of military trucks
transporting dozens of personnel in Idi Rayek district. Three
policemen were wounded in the ensuing 15-minute gunfight.
"We have no confirmation on casualties on the rebel side,"
Aceh Police spokesman Lt. Col. Sayed Husaini said.
Dialog
In Washington, D.C., visiting Indonesian foreign minister Alwi
Shihab also hinted at the probability of talks between the
President and separatist rebels.
He said Jakarta was open to dialog with separatist rebels in
Aceh but ruled out the possibility of granting independence to
the province.
"It seems there is some room for dialog still," Alwi said
before meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
"Gus Dur (Abdurrahman's nickname) is trying to use this space
for dialog to convince the factions of the independence movement
of Aceh that (they) still can accept cooperation with the central
government."
Alwi confirmed Abdurrahman was due to visit Aceh within four
or five days.
"We will see what will be the outcome of the visit. I assume
there will be progress," he said as quoted by AFP.
"I think dialog will lead to compromise because the government
of Indonesia cannot tolerate separatism. It would have a domino
effect."
He insisted that autonomy was the only likely solution.
Alwi, who met with United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan
and other Security Council members on Thursday, also conferred
with Albright in his effort to convince the world body that an
international tribunal on violence in East Timor would be
unnecessary. (50/51/edt/prb)