Students call for peace in Aceh
Students call for peace in Aceh
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Aceh
Dozens of Jakarta-based Association of Aceh Students and Youth
activists rallied in front of the office of Coordinating Minister
for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on
Thursday, calling for settlement to the prolonged conflict in
their home soil through a dialog.
The demonstrators insisted that they be allowed to hold talks
with Susilo, who was attending a Cabinet meeting at the State
Palace. Several staffers at the office received the activists
instead.
Big banners which said "Not military action, but dialog",
"Aceh settlement is forgotten", "Is there hope for Aceh people",
and "Save Aceh with dialog", were paraded during the brief rally.
In their statement, the group said people in Aceh had long
suffered from electricity and communication black-outs. To make
the matter worse, the government failed to protect state assets,
they said.
They asserted that the Aceh problem should not be reduced to
separatism, which has sparked armed clashes between the Free Aceh
Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian Military.
"Aceh is facing a more substantial problem which deals with
sense of justice and dignity," the statement said.
The group demanded for an end to military approach and the
presence of a neutral party to reach a thorough settlement to
problems in Aceh, which remains restive despite the special
autonomy status given to the province.
They also urged both Jakarta and GAM to proceed with their
planned peace talks in Geneva on May 8 and May 9.
Despite calls for a peaceful solution, violence continued to
flare up in Aceh. At least five people believed to be GAM members
were killed in the latest gunfight in Lhok Kuyun village in North
Aceh on Wednesday.
Local military spokesman Maj. Zaenal Mutaqin told The Jakarta
Post from Lhokseumawe the skirmish took place when a group of 19
TNI personnel led by Second Lt. Ari Suseno conducted a routine
patrol in Alue Kuyun village, some 50 kilometers west of the
North Aceh capital of Lhokseumawe.
Zaenal said the platoon was intercepted by around 40 armed
people, whom he believed were GAM rebels. The clash lasted one
hour, before the alleged rebels fled the scene.
The military troops found five bodies and caught one of the
attackers alive. They also seized an AK-56 rifle along with some
1,000 bullets and two communication radios.
Zaenal said the identity of the alleged GAM rebels was not
immediately known.
GAM could not be reached for comments on Wednesday's clash.
Meanwhile, Aceh Military Commander Brig. Gen. Djali Yusuf said
the special autonomy law now takes effect in Aceh would highlight
next week's dialog between Jakarta and GAM. Djali will be among
the Indonesian delegates in the peace talks.
"We hope the special autonomy law will play the key role in
the peace settlement in Aceh and will top the agenda during the
Geneva meeting," Djali said as quoted by Antara.
Djali was speaking to reporters after installing the new chief
of Teuku Umar Military Resort Command overseeing the southern
half of Aceh, Col. Gerhan Lantara.
He said the military would support every means to precipitate
the peace process, provided that it was not conducted at the
expense of national integrity.
"I think the Indonesian government has given enough time over
the past two years to (GAM) to hold a dialog aimed at finding the
best solution to Aceh problems," Djali said.
He said the government would seek help from Sweden to put
pressure on GAM leaders to accept the outcome of the upcoming
peace talks.
In a joint-statement released at the end of coordinating
minister for political and security affairs Susilo's visit to
Stockholm, the government of Sweden, where GAM top leader Hasan
Tiro has been living, acknowledged Indonesia's territorial
integrity and supported the special autonomy status for Aceh.