War returns to Aceh as peace talks fail

War returns to Aceh as peace talks fail

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

War looks set to return to Aceh after two days of talks to save a
peace pact between the Indonesian government and separatist
rebels broke down, with the government responding through the
imposition of martial law in the province.

After more than 13 hours of marathon meetings on Sunday, the
Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rejected Indonesia's demands to drop its
quest for independence, accept autonomy status for Aceh and lay
down its arms.

"There has been no indication from GAM (the Free Aceh
Movement) that it accepts the Unitary State of Indonesia as the
framework for a peaceful solution," Coordinating Minister for
Security and Political Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said at
his office.

"The GAM statement concerned only technical and operational
matters, which could have been discussed within the spirit of
special autonomy status."

Martial law, under Presidential Decree No. 28/2003, took
effect from midnight on May 19 for an extendible period of six
months. The decree was signed by President Megawati Soekarnoputri
on Sunday night.

Under this state of military emergency, newly installed Aceh
Military Commander Maj. Gen. Endang Suwarya is named the military
ruler, assisted by the Aceh governor and the chief of the
provincial prosecutor's office.

The last time martial law was imposed was in East Timor in
1999, as the government attempted to restore order in the former
Indonesian province following the outbreak of violence there.

Indonesia's chief negotiator Wiryono Sastrohandoyo called GAM
stubborn for dismissing Indonesia's ultimatum at a time when tens
of thousands of Indonesian soldiers had been readied in Aceh to
launch a military operation.

Wiryono told The Jakarta Post that Indonesia had handed over
to GAM a draft statement, which they hoped both sides could agree
on.

GAM revised the first draft and returned it as a second draft
to the Indonesian side. "We have accommodated some of their (GAM)
concerns. But GAM flatly rejected the third draft," Wiryono said.

GAM, meanwhile, said it was ready to face war.

"The Indonesian government wishes to continue its war on the
Acehnese," GAM leader Mahmood Malik said, as quoted by Reuters.
"We shall fight. We are ready. We have been fighting for 27
years."

Mahmood added he would ask the UN to intervene, but did not
elaborate.

The meeting in Tokyo was the last chance to salvage a five-
month-old cessation of hostilities deal, which was brokered by
the Swiss-based Henry Dunant Centre (HDC).

"The Henry Dunant Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue had been
engaged in last-minute efforts to bring the government of
Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement together in an attempt to
help resolve their immediate differences and avert a resumption
of conflict," said HDC spokesman Steve Daly.

"Those efforts were, unfortunately, unsuccessful."

Initially, there was hope that GAM would cease its
independence struggle in the face of a major military operation
and the absence of international support for its goals.

GAM's negotiators had flown in from their exile in Sweden.

In Aceh, other GAM negotiators participated in the talks via
their cellular phones after police barred them from leaving the
province.

But the chances for peace to prevail had been dim from the
onset. Rebels ignored a Monday deadline last week to accept
Indonesia's sovereignty over Aceh, while Jakarta pushed forward
with its war plans.

Coming under pressure from the international community,
Megawati, however, relented and agreed to the Tokyo meeting.

The House of Representatives lent its support for the war,
agreeing also to spend some Rp 1.25 trillion (about US$147
million) to finance the military operation.

Given the domestic political support and the failure of the
peace talks, there is now nothing standing between the Indonesian
Military (TNI) and war in Aceh.

Jakarta has launched what it has called a comprehensive
operation to purge separatists from Aceh. It comprises
humanitarian aid, law enforcement, restoration of provincial
administration and the military operation.

The Tokyo meeting's failure marks the return of a military
operation, which, for many in Aceh, brings back memories of human
rights abuses during the 10 years the province was under military
status to 1998.

Indonesia's westernmost province is rich in natural resources,
yet its population is impoverished because of the relentless
fighting and because Jakarta took too much revenue from the
province until recently.

Numerous community leaders in Aceh have pleaded for a
military operation to be averted and for both sides to stick to
the peace process.

The December 2002 peace deal helped reduce the level of
violence significantly, but the deal was flawed from the onset,
lacking a political answer to the question of independence.

GAM saw the peace deal as a stepping stone toward independence
and continued to campaign to that end. It also refused to disarm,
as required under the deal.

Indonesia has been charged with using pro-Jakarta militias as
proxies while its military withdrew to defensive positions.