TNI Halt Attacks Against GAM
National TNI Halt Attacks Against GAM TEMPO Interactive, Banda Aceh, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam:Indonesian Military (TNI) chief General Endriartono Sutarto has ordered TNI troops not to attack places considered as to be bases of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatist group. However, Sutarto said that the TNI would continue maintaining the safety of humanitarian activists and volunteers who are working in Aceh. “We will no longer launch attacks or conduct raids on GAM bases,” the TNI chief told reporters on Sunday (23/01) in Banda Aceh. According to him, this measure shall be carried out in support of the government’s decision to conduct peace talks with GAM. Indonesian foreign minister Hassan Wirajuda said last week that the government has opened the possibility of further negotiations with GAM following the tsunami disasters in Aceh on December 26, 2004. GAM leaders in Sweden have stated their willingness to re-start new negotiations. Sutarto said that the troops in the field would follow any decisions made by the government. “We only apply what has been decided by the government,” he stated, adding, “However, we will also provide input based on the situation in the field.” Sutarto said however that Aceh would always be part of the Indonesian Republic and this could not be negotiated. Indonesian Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare Alwi Shihab said on Saturday (22/01) that the government would consider all requests made by GAM, except for the freedom of Aceh. Bakhtiar Abdullah, GAM spokesman in Sweden, stated his pessimism regarding the new negotiations, which are scheduled to take place at the end of this week. According to Abdullah, he is yet to receive any contact from Indonesian government in Jakarta. “We have not yet seen nor heard anything. There has been no contact (from the Indonesian government in Jakarta, ed.) whatsoever,” he said. According to Abdullah, GAM is always prepared to start the talks under conditions agreed to by both parties. “We always say that our door is never open for a dialogue. However, all conditions must be approved by both parties. It can not be carried out one-sided,” he said. However, according to Wirajuda, both GAM and the Indonesian government have established communications since the tsunami disasters hit the province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD). The last dialogue between the Indonesian government and GAM took place in 2003. Following the failure of this dialogue in Tokyo, Japan, on May 19, 2003, Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri imposed a military state of emergency in Aceh. Since then, four operations have been conducted in Aceh, including more dominant military operations. The Swedish government has requested GAM leaders to re-open negotiations with the Indonesian government. According to Jemina Holmberg, a member of staff in the Asia-Pacific and Oceania section of the Swedish foreign ministry, her ministry has called GAM Prime Minister Malik Mahmud, GAM foreign minister Zaini Abdullah and GAM spokesperson in Sweden Bakhtiar Abdullah in order to discuss this matter. (AFP/Jojo Raharjo/Agriceli-Tempo News Room)
Tuesday, 25 January, 2005 | 20:45 WIB
