Aceh Peace Talks Make Impressive Strides: GAM

HELSINKI, July 13, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - An "amazingly surprising" advances have been made so far in peace talks between Indonesian officials and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), which said it is willing to give in to Jakarta's demand that Aceh remain a part of Indonesia.

"It's amazingly surprising that we managed to discuss all the issues already yesterday (Tuesday)," GAM spokesman Bakhtiar Abdullah told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Wednesday, July 13.

"Now we can discuss the new peace draft today," he added amid hopes that the two sides will finally agree to end a 30-year conflict that has claimed nearly 15,000 lives.

As a second day of negotiations got under way on Wednesday, delegates said they were pleased that they had already managed to cover all the points in a draft peace treaty, saying they were now prepared to discuss all the suggested changes.

Maria-Elena Cowell, a spokeswoman for the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI) foundation organizing the talks, confirmed that "a few points have been reformulated" in the draft treaty, but would not elaborate.

The two-day consultation meeting, which are scheduled to last through Sunday, July 17, are being held at the Koeningstedt estate outside Helsinki and are being mediated by former Finnish president and career diplomat Martti Ahtisaari.

The talks involved dozens of representatives of Acehnese civil society, including activists from the Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA), and GAM's leadership in Sweden.

Aceh has been a battleground for government and separatists since 1976 when GAM launched its campaign for independence, angered by what it said was Jakarta's exploitation of the province's resources.

When government and GAM delegations met for a first round of Helsinki talks in January it was the first time they had stood face-to-face since May 2003, when Jakarta declared martial law and launched a major military offensive in the province.

The renewed efforts to reach a peaceful solution were prompted by a need for international aid to reach the province worst hit by the December 26 killer tsunami. More than 131,000 people in the province perished.

Self-Government

Most significantly perhaps, GAM has said it is willing to give in to Jakarta's demand that Aceh remain a part of Indonesia, a main sticking point in the talks.

However, GAM spelled out conditions that the Acehnese must be allowed to govern the territory under a system of self-government, The Jakarta Post reported on Wednesday.

"This is one of the biggest compromises that GAM has ever made," Abdullah has said.

"Self-government is a political system, which provides genuine democracy for all of the Acehnese as we put aside our demand of being independent.

"And the establishment of local political parties that enable the Acehnese to participate in direct local elections as the key point of the system," he added.

He stressed that the Acehnese must feel free to talk about politics without being interfered with by the central government in Jakarta.

"I think that we have really done what we can. Now it is up to Indonesia to give in. The ball is in their court," Abdullah said, referring to continued government reluctance to grant the Acehnese the right to political participation.

GAM political advisor Damien Kingsbury told AFP that there cannot be restrictions placed on political parties.

"That would stop this process from going ahead," he said, calling on Jakarta to "embrace basic democratic principals."

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said last weekend the government would not allow local parties to stand in elections in Aceh, and while former GAM members would be allowed to run for the vice governorship post and those of district chiefs and mayors, the position of governor would be off limits.

Moreover, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo insisted on Wednesday the government would not accommodate the GAM wish to establish a local political party in Aceh province.

"Our 1945 amendment does not recognize the establishment of a local political party. We only acknowledge national political parties," Widodo said after a meeting with Yudhoyono according to the Post.

Widido said any former members of GAM who returned to Indonesia would be recognized as citizens, with full rights, after the government granted them amnesty.

"If (the GAM) members then rejoin the Acehnese people and have normal lives, that is their right as citizens. They are also eligible to vote and to be voted (in an election)," Widodo said.