TNI sets conditions for cease-fire with GAM
TNI sets conditions for cease-fire with GAM
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Indonesian Military (TNI) has set conditions for a temporary
cease-fire in troubled Aceh to allow Free Aceh Movement (GAM)
leaders to free all civilian hostages, including journalist Ferry
Santoro.
TNI commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said on Monday that he
would order a two-day cease-fire provided GAM promised not to
take anymore civilian hostages in the future.
"Should they promise and guarantee that they will never take
any civilian hostages again, then we will grant a two-day cease-
fire," Endriartono said before attending a limited Cabinet
meeting at the Presidential Palace.
GAM, which is currently holding dozens of civilians as
hostages, has demanded a cease-fire to allow the hostages to be
released.
Endriartono said more pressure should be put on the rebels as
the TNI could not afford to grant a cease-fire every time GAM
wanted to release hostages.
"Should they not provide any guarantees then they will refrain
from using civilian hostages so as to reduce the pressure the
military is putting on them, I will not comply with their
demand," the four-star Army general said.
Aceh has been put under martial law since May 19 of last year,
when the so-called integrated operation was launched to crack
down on GAM rebels, who have been fighting for independence for
the resource-rich province since 1976. Over 10,000 people, mostly
innocent civilians, have been killed since then.
Both the TNI and GAM have been engaged in tough negotiations
to release around 50 civilian hostages, including Ferry Santoro,
an RCTI TV cameraman.
Ferry, who was captured with reporter Ersa Siregar, later shot
by the TNI, and several civilians were captured by GAM last June
in the eastern part of the province.
Efforts to release Ferry have intensified after Ersa was found
death late last year following an ambush by TNI troops on a group
of rebels.
The government and TNI have come under international and
domestic pressure to ensure the safe release of the cameraman and
the rest of the civilian hostages.
The government has appointed the International Committee of
the Red Cross to facilitate the hostages' release.
However, the negotiations seem to have reached a dead end as
the TNI has been persistently refusing to grant GAM's demand for
a two-day cease-fire to facilitate the release of the hostages.
On Monday, Endriartono asserted that GAM had no right to set
conditions for the release of the hostages.
He contended that should GAM really want to release the
hostages, they could do it at anytime they wanted, with no
preconditions attached.
"Should we grant that demand without any guarantees, it will
set a bad precedent so that each time they need to consolidate
they will take more civilian hostages," he remarked.
Endriartono further said that the TNI would leave the
negotiations with the rebels to the ICRC and the Indonesian Red
Cross (PMI).
"They are negotiating. We will wait and see what happens," he
added.