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GAM seeks ceasefire at talks with Indonesia

Source
Agence France Presse - May 28, 2005

Separatists from the war-torn Indonesian province of Aceh said they will push for a ceasefire in their almost 30-year-old conflict with the Indonesian authorities, at peace talks in Finland.

Bakhtiar Abdullah, a spokesman for the exiled leadership of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) who are taking part in the talks in Helsinki, told AFP that a ceasefire should be part of a security agreement which was to be discussed with the government delegation. "We have had only negative answers so far, but we will pursue [the issue]," he said. "It will be part of a security package."

Members of the Indonesian government delegation at the talks were not immediately available for comment. The Jakarta government has to date refused any ceasefire during the talks, saying that the GAM rebels constitute a permanent security threat.

Jakarta has also signalled that it is losing patience with the peace process, and that it sees the current talks as the last chance to reach a deal, according to media reports.

However the GAM spokesman dismissed such reports as "typical Indonesian propaganda." "The process is still going on," he told AFP.

On general progress in the latest round of talks, which opened on Thursday, the rebel spokesman said: "As far as the GAM is concerned, we think these talks are constructive." "But of course it takes time to get a very concrete sustainable settlement after 30 years." "We remain cautiously optimistic," Bakhtiar Abdullah said.

Aceh has been a battleground for government and armed rebels since 1976 when GAM launched its campaign for independence, angered by what it said was Jakarta's exploitation of the province's oil and gas resources. Over 12,000 people have died in the fighting to date.

The latest series of talks, which began in January, came after the December 26 Asian tsunami wreaked havoc in the region, killing an estimated 128,000 people in Aceh alone. The round of talks which began on Thursday is the fourth since then.

The talks are being mediated and organized by the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI), which said on Friday that the latest round was taking place in a good atmosphere, with some progress.

The first day on Thursday focused on amnesty, integration in society and economic issues, while Friday's meeting centred on self-government and economic issues. On Saturday, the issue of security guarantees was on the agenda.

Despite the peace efforts, clashes between the rebels and the armed forces in Aceh continue on an almost daily basis. On Friday, Indonesian soldiers shot dead three separatist rebels during a raid in North Aceh district, a rebel stronghold, soldiers who took part in the skirmish told reporters.

Just over a week ago, Indonesia decided to lift a one-year-old state of civil emergency in the province.

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