RI and GAM hold peace talks in Aceh
BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): The joint committee, representatives of the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels group held peace talks here on Monday, to discuss, among other things, the establishment of a joint democracy council.
Before the session, GAM spokesman Teuku Kamaruzzaman told The Jakarta Post that the meeting planned to discuss the establishment of a democracy council that would function as the facilitator of political dialog, in order to identify a format for a peaceful solution for Aceh.
The institution would be jointly managed by Acehnese civilians, GAM members and representatives of the Indonesian government, Kamaruzzaman said on Sunday.
The political initiatives coming from the new committee would be expected to provide input for the further round of Indonesian- GAM talks in Geneva, Switzerland in September.
The Monday talks, held at the Kuala Tripa Hotel in Banda Aceh, started at around 10:00 a.m., and will continue on Tuesday.
None of the participants at the meeting was willing to speak to reporters, including the leader of the Indonesian government delegation police Sr. Comr. Ridwan Karim.
The conflicts in Aceh has reached to a new development as the separatist group, which had flatly rejected the option of special autonomy for Aceh through the Nangroe Aceh bill, has shown signs of compromise, by giving comments on the special autonomy bill which is being deliberated by the House of Representatives.
But GAM spokesman for the joint committee Sofyan Ibrahim Tiba said: "We only want to comment but our comments do not mean our acceptance."
Responding to Jakarta's request for the rebel group to present its armed wing commander Teungku Abdullah Syafi'ie in the September meeting and to give a written guarantee that the rebels would not disturb any facilities belonging to the giant gas company ExxonMobil Oil, Sofyan said the two proposals were all irrelevant with the dialog.
In a fresh outbreak of violence in Aceh, at least nine people, including four security officers, three rebels and two civilians, were killed in a series of incidents that took place from Saturday until Monday morning, officials said.
Aceh's Law and Order Security Operation deputy spokesman police Comr. Sudarsono said the latest incident took place on Monday morning when alleged rebels murdered 49-year-old Amiruddin, the father of Police Sgt. Edi Sabara who was also killed by separatists in Lampu-uk village in Aceh Besar regency on Saturday.
Amiruddin had been kidnapped by the rebels and his body was found also in Lampu-uk village on Monday morning, the officer said.
The other fatal incidents were recorded in North Aceh, Pidie, and East Aceh. Police Sgt. Taji Surbakti was shot dead by rebels on Sunday afternoon, while two rebels were killed during gunfights with security forces in Pidie regency on Saturday.
Pvt. Harianto was killed during a rebel ambush on a group of military officers in Idi, East Aceh on Sunday, and a GAM rebel was also killed during a pursuit of the attackers in Seunebok village, also in East Aceh.
The bodies of two civilians were found in Tangse village, Pidie and Kuala Simpang Ulim, East Aceh on Sunday. (50/emf/edt)