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Indonesian Ministers Tour Strife-Torn Aceh
JAKARTA, Aug 22 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The Indonesian government on Monday sent a high profile delegation to the restive province of Aceh where a Muslim group is fighting for independence.
The group of Ministers toured the capital city, Bandah Aceh, amidst tight security imposed there Wednesday.
The aim of the group of high officials is to help speed up a resolution to the province's complex problems.
The team, led by Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, met in a closed-door meeting with non-Free Aceh Movement (GAM) Aceh leaders.
Yudhoyono earlier stated that the newly enacted Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam special autonomy law was not the only solution to Aceh's problems. "There are lots of ways that we can work together to solve the crisis," he said, without elaborating further.
"Attempts to secede are obviously the wrong choice and are against the unitary state of Indonesia that has been built for hundreds of years," Susilo said.
"To stop separatism and bring back our brothers who want to break away from us is something that we must do," he added.
The GAM, for its part, said it could not guarantee the security of Indonesian ministers visiting the restive province.
GAM spokesman Sofyan Daud said cooperation with the Indonesian government would depend on developments, "especially when their visit is proven to cause the people and GAM to suffer more."
"No one here wishes a visit from Indonesian officials, which will make no difference in the Aceh people's demand [for freedom]," he said.
As many as 13 high-ranking officials, including ministers and security chiefs, arrived and spent the night in Medan Tuesday. They then flew to Banda Aceh before proceeding to Lhokseumawe by land.
Lhokseumawe is known as one of the GAM's strongholds.
The GAM considered the visiting Indonesian ministers as "tourists" as they would make no difference to the peace deal prospects for the Aceh people.
In an interview with IslamOnline, the GAM's Zaini Abdullah said the movement wanted to see the intervention of international observers such as the United Nations or the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) to handle the issue of a referendum in the territory.
The GAM also wants international observers to start a fact-finding mission that would investigate human rights violations in Aceh.
Speaking to reporters, Susilo B Yudhoyono said that certain "rules of the game" had to be established if the central government and the GAM were to sit at the negotiating table again.
The GAM said it was not relinquishing hope on negotiations but said it wanted the army to leave Aceh, the killing of Acehnese to stop and that Indonesia agrees to hold a referendum allowing the Acehnese to chose between independence or autonomy.
The Indonesian government is not ready, however to accept these terms and sources told IslamOnline that President Megawati Sukarnoputri's regime in Jakarta might be ready to reinforce the military presence in the territory.
The GAM has been fighting for an independent Islamic state in Aceh since the mid-1970s.
Peace talks between the GAM and government representatives were sponsored by the Geneva-based Henry Dunant Center, which has been mediating discussions between the two sides in Switzerland over the past 18 months.
Violence and killings continue despite the peace talks, with the GAM consistently accusing the Indonesian military of being behind the violence, while the Indonesian military says the GAM is responsible for the violence.
The newly elected Megawati, in her first state-of-the-nation address on August 16th, apologized for past human rights abuses in Aceh and the easternmost province of Irian Jaya.
She is personally responsible for the dossiers related to Aceh.
With additional reporting by Kazi Mahmood
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