RI wins ASEAN support for Aceh war
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Phnom Penh
Indonesia won full support from the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) for its fight against the armed rebellion in Aceh.
In a joint communique of the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) here on Tuesday, all ten ASEAN foreign ministers gave their support for the integrity of Indonesia's territory, including Aceh, where Indonesia has, since May 19, imposed martial law to flush out and destroy the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).
Recognizing that some ASEAN member countries' territories have been used as transit points for arms smuggling for the separatists, the foreign ministers promised to do their utmost to minimize arms smuggling in their respective territories.
"We pledge our support to deny the separatist movement access to means of violence through the prevention of arms smuggling to Aceh province," said Article 23 communique.
The 36th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting was officially closed with the issuance of the Communique addressing both security and economic issues in the region.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda said that Aceh was one of the issues that was discussed intently during the ministerial retreat on Wednesday as an integral part of the two- day ministerial meeting agenda.
"We briefed other ASEAN ministers on the issue and the latest developments in the province and everyone has been very supportive of Indonesia," the minister said.
The official declaration of support was expected to minimize any possible criticisms against the ongoing military operation since it has been under close scrutiny of the international community, which is concerned about human rights abuses during the offensive.
The political support will also provide a stronger basis for Indonesia in asking for assistance from its neighbors to help prevent GAM leaders from hiding or taking refuge in the region.
"We recognize all efforts by the Indonesian government to restore peace and order in Aceh," the statement said.
Indonesia also will likely seek support from the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) meeting on Wednesday between the ASEAN ministers with the grouping's 13 dialog partners, including the United States, Russia and the European Union.
Human rights organizations in the United States have strongly urged Secretary of State Colin Powell, who is set to attend the ARF meeting, to press Indonesia to cease hostilities in Aceh.
The ASEAN communique also mentioned that the countries "place particular importance on international cooperation against piracy and other threats to maritime security and looked forward to discussing these critical issues at ARF with a view to the issuance of a statement in this regard."
Hassan said on Monday that arms smuggling did not recognize countries' boundaries because arms could be smuggled to Indonesia from any part of the world and there would have to be international cooperation to curb it.