RI issues last warning despite Tokyo talks
Agencies, Tokyo/Jakarta
Last-ditch peace talks with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) got underway in Tokyo on Saturday as Jakarta issued its final warning for the rebels to renounce their independence aspirations and accept the special autonomy status.
The talks provided a glimmer of hope that a fresh round of war could be avoided in the troubled province, where the government continued to beef up its troops, preparing for its biggest military operation in decades.
Government troops reportedly killed seven rebels in Aceh province on Saturday in a clash over the hoisting of a separatist flag.
A military official in the provincial capital Banda Aceh, who declined to be identified, said the fight took place in a village in South Aceh on Saturday morning.
"Seven GAM rebels died in the exchange of fire," the official was quoted by Reuters as saying.
Delegates to the talks, a desperate effort to rescue a December peace pact, declined to comment to reporters as they entered the venue in central Tokyo on Saturday evening.
In Jakarta, President Megawati Soekarnoputri held an impromptu limited Cabinet meeting on Saturday evening to discuss the latest situation in Aceh.
Briefing the press after the meeting, Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stressed that GAM had to accept the conditions the government had put forward if it wanted to avoid facing the full brunt of the military.
"If GAM gives no positive response (to the conditions), the integrated operations will be launched in Aceh," said Susilo, adding that Megawati would issue a decree either on May 18 or 19 at the latest.
The government had issued three prerequisites for the peace talks to resume in Aceh -- GAM must accept the territorial integrity of Indonesia, accept the special autonomy status and lay down their weapons.
On Saturday, however, the government added a new condition for GAM to avoid war, that is the rebels have to hand over their weapons to police authorities, not in the designated places as stipulated in the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA) signed on Dec. 9, 2002. Indonesia has not withdrawn from the COHA.
According to Susilo, the government had conveyed the terms to GAM during Saturday's meeting, and the GAM had promised to give their answer on Sunday.
"Should there be dramatic changes, meaning GAM accepts the three conditions and hands over 60 percent of its weapons to the police, the government will declare a modified state of emergency in Aceh," Susilo said.
The government had revealed the so-called integrated operations -- combining humanitarian, law and order and security operations -- in the troubled province and had considered declaring martial law in the province.
The government has boosted troops and police in the resource- rich province to more than 45,000 from 38,000 in recent weeks, and the armed forces chief said he was awaiting orders to launch an offensive.
In a port close to the industrial town of Lhokseumawe, a fresh battalion of Indonesian troops backed by 10 amphibious vehicles came ashore on Saturday, part of preparations for the offensive against the rebels.
The troops appeared set to provide security in the area around Lhokseumawe, part of a region that is home to gas fields operated by U.S. oil and gas giant ExxonMobil. The military protects those fields.
Many Acehnese appeared to be taking the near collapse of the peace agreement in stride. Children went to schools, including girls wearing headscarves and ankle-length uniforms.
Traffic in Banda Aceh, home to 400,000 people, was busy as motorized trishaws bajaj competed with cars and motorbikes for space.
The military presence on the streets was not as heavy as on previous days.