We must crush

We must crush GAM for peace

From Warta Kota

Various efforts have been made to find an amicable settlement of the Aceh question: Humanitarian Pauses I and II and the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, among others. As already expected, peace will never come to Aceh as long as the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) exists.

GAM wants Aceh to be independent while the Indonesian government wants to keep it part of the Indonesian state. Clearly, dialogs and negotiations with GAM will only make the separatist movement grow bigger in Aceh.

The government has set a deadline for GAM to lay down their arms but GAM does not seem to heed this ultimatum.

To satisfy popular aspirations, the government should not hesitate to launch a military operation to totally wipe out GAM once and for all so that peace may come to Aceh.

The outside world, as shown by the support from the U.S. and Russians through their envoys in Indonesia, supports Indonesia's effort to maintain the integrity of the Indonesian state. The government should not worry about being accused of violating human rights in handling the Aceh question.

MUHIDIN

West Java