Aceh peace talks end, major progress reported on autonomy offer

Channel NewsAsia / Agence France Presse ^ | 2/24/05

[Valin]

HELSINKI : The Indonesian government and Aceh separatists wrapped up peace talks, setting a date for new talks and reporting major progress, but no breakthrough, on an offer of special autonomy for the tsunami-wrecked province.

A new round of negotiations was set for April, the third since the Indian Ocean tsunamis that devastated Aceh made the need for a settlement more pressing.

Indonesian communications minister and delegation member Sofyan Djalil, speaking after the Helsinki meeting concluded, said the rebels initially had rejected outright a government offer of special autonomy.

But as the talks progressed their position "changed dramatically", he told AFP.

"They started talking of the substance, they started inquiring (about) local autonomy, even though they don't agree with that term," he said. The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) prefers the term self-government.

"The meeting this time from our perspective has some progress," Djalil said, adding: "This is the first time GAM didn't mention independence."

Talks had focused on Indonesia's proposals concerning "local authority, special autonomy, amnesty and other arrangements to integrate GAM people into the community," as well as "about security arrangements ... and a timetable," he said.

In a subsequent news conference, Malik Mahmud, head of Aceh's self-proclaimed government, said his movement did not reject completely the idea of dropping its independence claims.

"This is something that, yes, we have to consider it," he said.

Both sides had had to make efforts to bridge the gap between Aceh's demand for complete independence and Indonesia's offer of special autonomy, he said.

But at the same time he insisted that "we are not dropping the independence struggle. The meaning of GAM is the Free Aceh Movement".

Djalil said there would be no lasting ceasefire agreement until all issues were agreed.

"Nothing is agreed until all is agreed," he said.

The two sides agreed to meet again in Helsinki for a third round of talks April 12-17, former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari, who mediated the talks, said in a statement.

The Helsinki peace talks are considered a milestone in dealings between the warring sides.

When they met for an initial round at the end of January, it was the first time face-to-face encounter since May 2003, when the government declared martial law and launched a major military offensive in the province.

More than 12,000 people have been killed since Aceh separatists began fighting for independence for the oil-rich province in 1976, claiming Jakarta plunders its resources and the army commits atrocities against its population.

The renewed efforts to reach a peaceful solution were prompted by a need for international aid to reach Aceh, which bore the brunt of the catastrophic earthquake and tsunamis in December.

Although both parties agreed during the first round of talks to "try to refrain from hostilities" during Aceh's recovery, the army has admitted killing more than 200 rebels since the tsunami struck.

And even as the latest round of talks began on Monday, Indonesia's military announced that one of its soldiers and two civilians had been killed when a group of 30 rebels ambushed troops who were on their way to carry out relief work in western Aceh.