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.