Muklis Ali, Jakarta – Indonesia's government on Thursday branded the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) a terrorist group for the first time, and hinted it may impose a civil emergency in the province of Aceh as violence there was getting out of hand.
"School burnings, civilian abductions and shootings of MPs. The government thinks this is the work of terrorists," Chief Security Minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said.
"It's difficult for Indonesia to negotiate with terrorists. Would the US, the West talk to terrorists?" said the former army general, referring to GAM and recent accusations made by officials against the group.
The Aceh rebels along with separatists in Papua province in the country's far east have for long been regarded, by Jakarta and Western governments alike, as independence fighters.
The minister's remarks are likely to heighten tension in the resource-rich northern province, where clashes between rebels and security personnel occur almost daily, making a mockery of a series of ceasefires agreed in the past two years.
GAM representatives declined to comment when contacted.
Yudhoyono said if the rebels, who have been fighting for independence for decades and number in the thousands, accepted an autonomy package unveiled by the government last year then both sides could move to the next stage of peace talks. The last round of talks was held in Geneva in May.
But there had been no progress, Yudhoyono said, adding the government had the legal foundation to impose a civil emergency. That is one step down from martial law and allows security forces to search houses and detain suspects.
'Enough is enough'
"If parliament recommends the government [impose civil emergency], our responsibility is to explain to the world that enough is enough. We have given [GAM] the opportunity for too long, we need to make adjustments now." Thousands have been killed in Aceh as the rebels fight central control they say has exploited the area. The Brussels-based think tank, the International Crisis Group, estimated up to 2,000 people were killed in 2001 alone.
President Megawati Sukarnoputri and other senior officials have told the military to take tough action against the rebels.
Diplomats have said that approach was unlikely to work, and would only alienate more of Aceh's four million people, who have long complained of human rights abuses at the hands of the security forces and GAM.
Even under former President Suharto's 32-year autocratic rule, which ended in 1998, the military failed to defeat GAM.
A civil emergency is still imposed in parts of the eastern Moluccas islands, where savage fighting between Muslim and Christians has killed at least 5,000 people since early 1999.
GAM has insisted it would accept nothing less than independence but Megawati has said that is out of the question.
Suspected GAM members have been holding nine Indonesian crewmembers taken from a boat chartered by a unit of Exxon Mobil in the province, officials said on Monday. The rebels have not commented on the accusations.