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Aceh rebels to await referendum

Workers clear debris from a boat in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on Monday that was thrown on top of a house during the South Asia tsunami. Indonesia's tsunami death toll rose by 5,000 for the second time in two days as of Monday. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
By Chris Brummitt Associated Press
Workers clear debris from a boat in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on Monday that was thrown on top of a house during the South Asia tsunami. Indonesia's tsunami death toll rose by 5,000 for the second time in two days as of Monday. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia – Rebels in Aceh province said Monday they are willing to put their demand for secession on hold if Indonesia accepts a “face-saving” formula that would allow the tsunami-hit region to hold an independence referendum within five to 10 years.

The two sides held talks over the weekend in the Finnish capital, Helsinki, to consider a possible cease-fire and to reopen a peace process that was broken in May 2003 by the Indonesian military. Although the meeting ended inconclusively, both sides have said negotiations will resume in February.

Teungku Adam, a rebel commander in Aceh who said he had been in touch with rebel negotiators in Scandinavia, said the Indonesian side wanted them to accept an autonomy package before agreeing to a formal cease-fire.

Adam said that when talks resume on Feb. 21, the Indonesian delegation will present the details of the autonomy package for the province of 4.1 million people on the northern tip of Sumatra island.

“We have said we will sit and listen, but that does not mean we will accept,” he said. “How can they force us to accept when they are losing the war?”

“We will give them a face-saving deal — both sides will have to agree on a referendum within five or 10 years, and that will give the Indonesians an opportunity to win hearts and minds if they can,” Adam told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

Although Free Aceh Movement separatists have in the past said they wanted a referendum on self-determination for Aceh, they never set a time frame for the plebiscite until now. They have always rejected Jakarta’s plan for self-government, also known as “special autonomy.”

Tens of thousands of people have died in the fighting that broke out in 1976. At least 15,000 have perished in the last decade.

Meanwhile in Jakarta, security minister Widodo Adi Sucipto, who led the Indonesian delegation at the Helsinki talks, said the government remained committed to the peace process but would continue with military operations until a permanent solution is agreed on.

“The differences between the two sides are related to the special autonomy which constitutes the main platform for the Indonesian government in settling the conflict,” he told reporters.

“The government wants a comprehensive and permanent solution,” Widodo said.

And in a related development, a well-known human rights group in the province urged the United Nations to get involved in the peace talks saying the two sides “were not serious” about finding a peaceful settlement.

The non-governmental Information Center for a Referendum in Aceh also criticized Jakarta and the rebel Free Aceh Movement for not putting the interests of the people of the devastated region on the northern tip of Sumatra island ahead of “their narrow political interests.”

“Hopefully, in their next meeting … a positive outcome will be reached based on the need for democracy and peace in Aceh,” the group said. “The United Nations must use its influence to pressure both parties to … make peace.”