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| Tuesday, 22 February 2005 |
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Aceh talks begin with ceasefire HELSINKI, Monday (Reuters) Indonesia and Aceh rebels meet on Monday for a second round of peace talks with a ceasefire and limited autonomy on the agenda for the restive region as both sides seek to end three decades of conflict. Brought together by the Dec. 26 tsunami which devastated Aceh province, where more than 235,000 people died or went missing, the two sides met in Helsinki in late January under the auspices of former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari. It was the first face-to-face meeting between Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) since 2003 and proved constructive enough to spark further talks aimed at a lasting peace for the gas-rich province on the northern tip of Sumatra island. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Saturday his government would discuss "special autonomy and topics around that" for Aceh, where over 12,000 have been killed in three decades of fighting. The autonomy deal Jakarta has offered includes concessions towards self-rule and Islamic law in the devout Muslim province and a bigger slice of the economic benefits from the province's energy resources. GAM has rejected similar offers in the past, insisting on full independence from Jakarta. But its leaders, who have lived in exile in Stockholm since they declared independence in 1976, took part in the January talks, which had limited autonomy as their basis, and the rebel group's prime minister in exile said on Sunday the group was open to all ideas. "If we could achieve a ceasefire, we will try to (then) find other options to settle the political problem in Aceh," Malik Mahmud told Reuters. "We will study (autonomy), and perhaps we will try to find other options." Ahtisaari stressed special autonomy was the only political alternative on the agenda. "I think it's extremely important that everyone understands that we are not starting negotiations, and they are not open such that all possible alternatives could be considered. We only have one (alternative)," he told Reuters in an interview. "The whole exercise is aimed at looking at whether the possibility of ... special autonomy can actually provide the basis for ending the armed conflict." Analysts say given the longstanding differences, a ceasefire should be the priority so that reconstruction in Aceh can gather pace. There have been reports of sporadic clashes despite the offers of a ceasefire since the tsunami. Indonesian Information Minister Sofyan Djalil, speaking to reporters on Sunday, was upbeat on the chances of a ceasefire: "We are quite optimistic, that is why we have come here." But Ahtisaari said a ceasefire should be part of a more comprehensive peace deal rather than an end in itself. "We need the security arrangement, disarmament of people, but that has to come as part of an overall package that consists of many other details," he said. |
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