Susilo to make first visit as president to restive Aceh

Susilo to make first visit as president to restive Aceh

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Banda Aceh

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is scheduled to hold a one-
hour dialog with non-governmental organizations, youth groups and
religious leaders during his first visit as President to the
troubled province of Aceh on Friday.

Security will be tight during his one-day visit, with the
Civil Emergency Administration deploying around 3,000 military
and police personnel.

A total of 400 invitations have been sent out, but non-
governmental organizations critical of the government, including
Aceh Anticorruption Solidarity (SORAK), complained on Thursday
that they had not been invited to the dialog, to be held at the
gubernatorial offices.

"We really want to meet the President. The meeting should be
open to the public at large if Susilo really wants input,"
Akhiruddin of SORAK told The Jakarta Post.

Teungku Raihan Iskandar, deputy speaker of the Aceh provincial
legislature, said that the time allotted for the meeting was too
short.

"The time is very limited. But if I have the chance, I hope to
talk about the government's seriousness in implementing the local
autonomy law," he said.

After the dialog, Susilo, who has promised to resolve the Aceh
issue based on justice and honest, would proceed to the
Baiturrahman Mosque for Friday prayers.

Meanwhile in Jakarta, State Minister for Information and
Communication Sofyan Djalil said after a three-hour Cabinet
meeting that the Aceh issue would be settled with "dignity,
justice and honesty," but did not further elaborate.

"The President will only visit Banda Aceh and hold a meeting
with representatives of youth groups, Muslim clerics and other
groupings at the governor's offices," Sofyan said on Thursday.

He also said that the government's policy was not limited to
extending the state of civil emergency, but also encompassed
accommodating the wishes of the Acehnesse people.

"The government will try to retrieve more weapons from the
hands of the Aceh rebels and put a post-conflict reconstruction
program in place, which will be further elaborated on after the
dialog with the Acehnese," Sofyan said.

Aceh is currently under a state of civil emergency as part of
the effort to militarily stamp out the Free Aceh Movement (GAM),
which has been fighting for independence for the province since
1976. Over 10,000 people, mostly innocent, have been killed since
then.

The one-day visit will be the first by Susilo to the province
since he was inaugurated as President on Oct. 20.

Just like former presidents B.J. Habibie, Abdurrahman "Gus
Dur" Wahid and Megawati Soekarnoputri, Susilo will hold a dialog
with groups invited by the local administration.

Susilo has been widely criticized by Acehnese elders for his
decision to extend the state of civil emergency for another six
months, saying that he was no different from previous presidents.

When asked about the legal status of Aceh Governor Abdullah
Puteh, who has been under investigation by the Corruption
Eradication Commission (KPK), Sofyan said: "The government cannot
interfere with the legal process being undertaken by the KPK."

The minister also disclosed that the President planned to
visit the earthquake-hit area of Alor in East Nusa Tenggara as
soon as he returned from the Association of Southeast Asia
Nations (ASEAN) summit in Laos next week.