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THE STATE OF
ACHEH
Protest against wording and content of CMI’s statement on the coming Round 3 GAM-GoI peace talks in Helsinki.
The Crisis Management Initiatives (CMI) has published in its website an announcement of the coming Round 3 peace talks between ASNLF/GAM and the Indonesian Government which is scheduled to take place in Helsinki from 12 to 17 April 2005. Prime Minister in exile Malik Mahmud has written a letter of protest to President Marrti Ahtisaari, Chairman of CMI, regarding the misleading wording and content of the announcement. The Prime Minister reminds the CMI that the words ”insurrection” and ”secessionist” used in the announcement are offensive to the Achehnese, as they imply the legitimacy of the status quo which, prima facie, GAM does not accept. The Free Acheh Movement (GAM) leader expresses his deep disappointment that the concerned CMI’s statement disregards the substantial progress achieved in the previous meetings and has not assisted in making the coming round conducive. He is particularly concerned of the phrases that imply that GAM has accepted Special Autonomy status. The statement further incorrectly states that Round 3 is an ”informal meeting”, which CMI chairman Mr Maarti Ahtisaari has previously noted as being ”formal”. GAM believes the coming Round of talks would be wasting everyone’s time if they had no binding quality. By definition, an informal discussion has no capacity to resolve the conflicting question. Prime Minister Malik Mahmud therefore has requested that the CMI immediately withdraws this statement from its website and offers a clarification of the terms and status of the talks. Stockholm, 9 April 2005
Bakhtiar Abdullah ------------------------------
ACHEH SUMATRA NATIONAL LIBERATION FRONT
PRESS RELEASE 09 April 2005 GAM is shocked and dismayed by the recent CMI statement on its website about the supposed aims of the ongoing negotiations. By these statements, CMI betrays the trust the people of Acheh and GAM have given it to act as a neutral mediator. GAM has never agreed that the conflict will or should be resolved within the framework of special autonomy, as CMI states. We Achehnese have fought for 132 years to gain our freedom from the Dutch and Indonesia and we are determined to get as close to that goal as we possibly can. Special autonomy leaves us too far away, gasping for breath and with a sense of impending doom. Neither has GAM agreed to any of the specifics CMI lists, such as a mere reduction of Indonesian armed forces. Nor have we asked for economic compensation of our fighters. These are Indonesian proposals, not the basis of these talks. A just settlement to this conflict will not be found in a hurry. Other conflicts further tell us that lasting settlements are built step by step, not imposed all at once- unless there is a defeated party. But GAM and the Achehnese have not been defeated either on the field of battle or in our hearts. Indonesia knows that all too well. We Achehnese are a tough people when we need to be. Two years of all-out war have left us dented, but not daunted. We have suffered terribly under successive Indonesian regimes, including the latest. And the tsunami has just dealt us a cruel, cruel blow. But our latest suffering gives us even greater cause - not less - to demand our proper rights.. We want the world's sympathy but not at the cost of our dreams. We do want peace. But we need justice. We want to continue these negotiations, but will not do so if they are merely a means of forcing us to swallow an unpalatable meal of fake autonomy and continued military occupation. Thus far, we have been patient.Our leaders have not made demands in these talks. But after this affront, the Achehnese sorely need some indication of real good will. We now ask publicly that our negotiators held in the jails of Java be released to continue the duties they performed previously.We further ask that Mohammed Nazar, the leader of the non-violent referendum movement, be released with them; he will join our team as a civilian representative in future talks. Please believe us when we say we Achehnese are determined to keep fighting if we must.
Central Military Command
Sofyan Dawod |
