RI issues last warning despite Tokyo talks

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 Indonesia has not withdrawn from the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.