BANDA
ACEH, Indonesia, May 11 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies)
-International mediators made last-ditch efforts Sunday, May 11, to
avert a return to all-out war in Indonesia's Aceh as bloodshed
continued in the province.
The
government has given separatist rebels from the Free Aceh Movement
(GAM) till Monday, May 12, to announce they are shelving their
independence demand and are prepared to start disarming, Agence
France-Presse (AFP) reported.
Fresh
troops have been pouring into the province in Sumatra island in recent
days in expectation of a military offensive, in a move likely to
further set back an already crumbling peace process.
David
Gorman, local representative of the Henry Dunant Centre (HDC)
mediation group, said mediators met GAM representatives in Stockholm
on Saturday, May 10, to try to persuade them to talk to the Jakarta
government. GAM's exiled top leadership is based in Sweden.
The
talks yielded "positive" results, Gorman said.
"We
are still talking with the government and seeing what type of
last-minute achievement can be made. We are doing whatever we can do
to avoid a military operation and renewed fighting," he added.
"The
people of Aceh are generally very troubled and concerned about the
situation," Gorman said, noting that more than 50 truce monitors
from Thailand, the Philippines and Norway are still in Aceh.
Whether
they leave depends on the results of talks between the HDC and the
Indonesian government, Gorman said.
"If
we are notified by the government that we should leave, then we will
leave. But we are still awaiting the outcome of this last-minute
effort."
As
of early evening Sunday, talks between the mediators and Jakarta were
still underway, Gorman said.
‘Retaliation’
GAM
military spokesman Sofyan Dawod said that should a military operation
be launched, rebels would attack troops posted at gas plants operated
by U.S.-owned energy giant Exxon Mobil and other foreign companies.
"The
TNA has no intention of attacking those facilities, but we will attack
military posts located in those vital facilities," he said.
The
rebels say they have ordered their forces to return to their bases and
take up defensive positions in expectation of an attack.
Rebels
meanwhile killed a policeman and critically wounded another, police
said.
The
member of the Brimob paramilitary force was killed on Saturday in an
ambush in East Aceh, they said. Rebels shot and critically wounded
another policeman in North Aceh.
An
estimated 10,000 people, most of them civilians, have died since GAM
began its struggle for independence in 1976.
The
government says GAM must meet its terms as a precondition for any
Joint Council meeting aimed at saving the December 9 peace pact.
GAM
has rejected the deadline and says it wants any meeting held in
Switzerland, while the government insists talks should take place in
Indonesia.
The
joint council groups top leaders from both sides as well as the
mediators.
A
lower-level Joint Security Committee (JSC), also grouping the three
parties, overseeing the peace pact in the troubled province.
‘Released’
Four
of five GAM members who had been arrested on Saturday were released on
a guarantee from the JSC and HDC, Aceh police spokesman Sayed Husaini
said.
However,
they are still suspects in bombings in Jakarta and Medan, a city in
North Sumatra bordering Aceh, which police have blamed on GAM. The
four are also obliged to report to police periodically, Husaini said.
"We
have found preliminary evidence that they were involved in bombing
cases. We're looking for further evidence," he said, adding the
charges were in relation to suspected involvement in bombings in
Jakarta and Medan.
"The
law permits us to arrest people who are related to organized crime
activities even if they did not execute the crime," he said
without elaborating.
Massive
Security For Bali Bomb Trial Eve
 |
|
Amrozi
is the first suspect to face trial over the Bali blast
|
In
another related development, Indonesian police Sunday prepared a
massive security operation involving 3,000 officers and including
marksmen, on the eve of the first trial of a Bali bombing suspect.
Some
600 of the officers will be deployed in and around the court itself
when suspect Amrozi appears in court Monday, said Bali police
spokesman Yatim Suyatmo.
Twelve
marksmen and 20 police dogs will be deployed in the area.
"We
have to anticipate any actions from JI or any other groups who want to
scuttle the trials," Suyatmo said.
Regional
network Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) is blamed for the two nightspot bombings
which killed 202 people from 21 countries in Bali last October 12.
It
was the worst terror attack since the September 11 strikes in the
United States in 2001, which Washington blamed on Al-Qaeda.
Amrozi,
40, a village mechanic, is accused of buying one ton of chemicals for
the main bomb and the van which carried it, and driving the van to
Bali.
He
has been dubbed the "laughing bomber" for a lighthearted
appearance before the cameras in November. Police say he was motivated
by hatred of the United States and its allies over the treatment of
Muslims worldwide. He could face a firing squad if convicted.
Many
victims of the Bali blasts were foreign holidaymakers, including 88
Australians. But 38 Indonesians also died and the island's tourism
industry was dealt a crippling blow from which it is still recovering.
Several
families of the dead will shun the trial. "I will not come
because I am afraid that I might not be able to control my
emotions," said Sony, who lost his wife in the blasts.
