Self-rule demand a crunch issue in new GAM talks

Self-rule demand a crunch issue in new GAM talks

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

A top-level government delegation will hold a third-round of
peace talks with officials of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in
Finland next week in a bid to seek a peaceful way to end nearly
three decades of armed conflict in Aceh.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla said the team of ministers, who
would fly to Finland on Sunday for the six-day talks starting on
April 12, would among others seek explanation from GAM about its
proposed self-rule concept.

"The agenda (will) lead to a settlement," he said after a
Cabinet meeting in his office late on Thursday.

Kalla said previously that the government expected to reach an
agreement with GAM by June.

The Indonesian delegation includes chief negotiator Minister
of Justice and Human Rights Hamid Awaluddin, Minister of
Communication and Information Sofyan Djalil and several other
high-ranking officials. Coordinating Minister for Security,
Legal and Political Affairs Widodo Adi Sucipto will serve as the
supervisor to the delegation.

Meeri-Mariia Jaarva of the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI),
a Finland-based non-government organization that has organized
the talks, confirmed the planned meeting, saying that it would be
held on the outskirts of Helsinki.

"The next talks will cover similar issues as the previous
talking rounds: the special autonomy, security arrangements,
economic relations, amnesty, outside monitoring ... " Jaarva was
quoted by AFP as saying.

GAM rebels have been fighting for an independence of the oil
and gas-rich Aceh province for 28 years. They have accused the
central government of human rights violations in Aceh and of
squandering the province's natural resources while leaving the
Acehnese in poverty.

The last formal cease fire between the two sides broke down in
May 2003, prompting the Megawati Soekarnoputri government to
launch a major military assault to crush the GAM rebels, putting
the province under martial rule. It later downgraded martial law
into a permanent status of civil emergency, barring all foreign
press and aid workers.

However after the devastating Dec. 26 tsunami, the government
allowed foreign aid workers, troops and journalists to enter the
province. The disaster also led both sides to resume peace
negotiations.

The first two rounds of discussions, both in Helsinki, have
focused on a government offer to grant Aceh special autonomy,
with the rebels indicating they may drop demands for full
independence if certain conditions are met. During the last
talks in February, top GAM officials demanded a form of self-rule
for the province.

Sofyan Djalil said the government would seek an explanation
from GAM about its proposed self-rule concept.

"They want self-government. We don't know what it means,"
Sofyan said.

Indonesia, he said, still stuck to its offer of special
autonomy for Aceh as "a peaceful and dignified settlement" to the
conflict.

"It needs to be discussed further. What is the meaning of
this (self-rule) term? The most important thing is the
substance. Hopefully, the upcoming talks will lead to an
agreement," he said.

During the talks, the government would no longer object to the
involvement of Damien Kingsbury, an Australian academic who
served as an adviser to the GAM delegation, he said.

Meanwhile, Kingsbury was quoted by Reuters as saying that the
Indonesian government and GAM could reach a historic peace deal
by August.

"I think there is not so much problem with the term self-
government. The issue is around content obviously. Now there is
concern in Indonesia that this is a back door to independence,"
Kingsbury said.

"Now what the Free Aceh Movement have to do is to persuade
them that this is not in fact a back door to independence, but is
self-government within the (Indonesian) republic," he said.

"I think at the moment they are looking at August, if it's
possible, assuming this goes well and subsequent rounds go well.
I think an August timeline would be feasible, but I'm not
underestimating the difficulties, he said referring to a peace
deal."