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.