The Indonesian government and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) will resume peace talks in Switzerland this weekend after a break of more than six months, according to a mediation body.
The Geneva-based Henry Dunant Center for Humanitarian Dialogue, which has arranged previous rounds of peace talks since 2000, said in a statement the talks would resume in Geneva this Saturday and Sunday.
"We have just spoken with the GAM leadership in Stockholm and we can confirm that the leadership of the Free Aceh Movement and the Indonesian government will indeed be meeting this weekend," Andy Andrea, spokesperson for the centre said in the statement.
The meeting comes at a time of increasing violence in Aceh province on Sumatra island, where GAM has since 1976 waged a guerrilla war for independence.
GAM officials in Aceh said earlier this week they would boycott the talks because they are mourning military commander Abdullah Syafii, killed by troops during a raid on a jungle hideout on January 22.
The Swedish-exiled GAM leadership said Tuesday it was unlikely to attend the talks but no final decision had been taken. It could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday on its reported acceptance of dialogue. Ceasefires agreed in previous rounds of talks in Geneva have broken down.
"This [dialogue] comes at a very difficult time for both sides because confidence has been damaged by unacceptably high levels of violence," Andrea said.
Close to 200 people have already been killed in Aceh this year. Last year alone, 1,700 people were killed.
"We are very much encouraged that, despite this, they are both still prepared to meet and exchange views on the future of Aceh. It is all the more encouraging considering the need, recognised by everyone, to resolve this conflict peacefully," Andrea said.
In a separate statement the Aceh Monitoring Team for Security Problems – which groups representatives from both camps plus academics and non-governmental organisations in Aceh – urged both sides to start talking. "The first concrete step that must be taken in the dialogue process is to halt enmity and enter a ceasefire respected by both sides," the team said.
Violence continued unabated, with eight more deaths confirmed in the past 24 hours. A policeman was shot dead by attackers on a motorcycle Thursday on the outskirts of Banda Aceh, said Aceh police spokesman Adjunct Senior Commissioner Agus Dwiyanto.
Troops raiding a suspected rebels firearms factory at Sialang Raye in South Aceh on Wednesday shot dead five rebels and confiscated machinery, said Aceh military spokesman Major Ertoto. Ertoto said that another rebel was shot dead at Alue Pisang in the same district on Wednesday when troops raided a suspected rebel hideout. On the same day soldiers raided another hideout at Arungon Lambalik in West Aceh and killed the local GAM commander, Ertoto added.
GAM spokesman for the Aceh Besar district, Ayah Sofyan, said rebels shot dead three soldiers who were conducting a sweep at Indrapuri near Banda Aceh on Wednesday. Ertoto said he had no report on the incident.
The government last year passed a law granting Aceh greater self-rule and a much larger share of oil and gas revenues to appease pro-independence sentiment. But rebels insist on nothing short of independence, a goal which the government has ruled out.