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Indonesian Govt to Send Minister to GAM Talks
Indonesia will send Coordinating Minister for Political, Social and Security Affairs Agum Gumelar to the peace talks between the government and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Geneva, Switzerland, early next month.
Speaking to reporters after attending a Cabinet meeting on Aceh here on Friday, Defense Minister Mahfud M.D. said Agum would be among the Indonesian delegation led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General for Political Affairs Hassan Wirayuda at the two-day meeting, scheduled for July 2 and 3.
"The peace dialogue will be attended by Minister Agum Gumelar," he was quoted by the Jakarta Post Saturday as saying.
Mahfud indicated that Agum would likely be present at the signing of the peace agreement.
Agum, a retired Army general, will be the highest-ranking government official ever to sit at the negotiation table with GAM representatives.
In May last year, Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab canceled his plan to witness the signing of a peace agreement between the two parties in Switzerland, at the request of President Abdurrahman Wahid.
In Aceh, a GAM spokesman Nasharuddin Ahmad Friday said they planned to raise two agenda items in the negotiations.
He said these were the cessation of the use of repressive measures or the "military campaign" launched by the Indonesian government, and the request for greater opportunity for civilians to settle the conflicts peacefully.
Armed conflicts in resource-rich Aceh have continued, despite regular talks between the Indonesian government and the rebel group. In 2001 alone, at least 750 persons have been killed in conflicts throughout the province, most of them civilians.
It was reported that the government troops shot dead Tgl. Malik, believed to be the leader of the GAM for Keude Tanjong village in West Aceh, on Thursday.
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