TNI gives GAM ultimatum to sign peace accord
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Banda Aceh
Using a stick or carrot tactic, the Indonesian Military (TNI) renewed its threat against Free Aceh Movement (GAM), that the rebels would face the most severe consequences should they fail to meet a Dec. 9 deadline to sign a peace accord.
TNI Chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto pointed out on Thursday that the rebels, who still want to hash out some details before signing the accord, "had no choice" but to go to Geneva to sign the Henry Dunant Centre-facilitated peace agreement with the government originally planned for Dec. 9.
"There is no need to engage in 'Plan B' if GAM shows good faith to sign the peace deal with the government," the general said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said that Plan B was to conduct a massive military crackdown on the separatist movement in Aceh, should the peace deal, Plan A, fail to materialize.
TNI spokesman Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, however, insisted that the military would not cease its military operations in Aceh regardless of the results of the peace negotiation between the government and the Aceh rebels.
"Even though the government and the GAM representatives might sign a peace agreement on Dec. 9, it does not mean that we, the TNI, will stop our operations there. A clear possibility is that we may change our approach from an offensive to defensive approach," Sjafrie said in a media briefing.
In Banda Aceh, the spokesman for the GAM negotiation team, Teuku Kamaruzzaman, said his party only agreed to go to Geneva to resume its negotiation with the Indonesian government, and not to sign an agreement.
"We will not directly sign an agreement there as said by many parties," Kamaruzzaman told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
Separately, Japanese Ambassador for Indonesia Yutaka Iimura disclosed that on Dec. 3, his country, along with the United States and the World Bank would co-sponsor the "Preparatory Conference on Peace and Reconstruction in Aceh", in Tokyo. Its purpose will be to encourage the peace process in Aceh and to discuss what the international community can contribute for the rebuilding and reconstruction of Aceh, said the ambassador.
The one-day forum will be attended by Indonesian government representatives, the representatives of Acehnese civil society, "like-minded countries" and international organizations. The ambassador, however, still could not say whether GAM had agreed to come to Tokyo.
"It should be good timing for us to show international support to a peaceful solution of the Aceh problem ...to discuss, in a very preliminary the way, how we can contribute to the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Aceh," the ambassador told the Post.
He expressed his hope that the conference would be held as scheduled despite the uncertain peace prospects in the rebellious province.