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Islamic Leader Urges Indonesia To End Aceh War
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"If
good people, like Suja', are arrested (by government) one by one, they
will surely remove themselves even further away from efforts to end the
Aceh conflict," said Syafii
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By
Kazi Mahmood, IOL Southeast Asia Correspondent
KUALA
LUMPUR, June 24 (IslamOnline.net) - The leader of one of the most
influential and the second largest Islamic organization in Indonesia
urged the government of Megawati Sukarnoputri to end the war in Aceh
and to resume dialog with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), news agencies
said on Tuesday, June 24, 2003.
Muhammadiyah
Chairman Ahmad Syafii Maarif said it would be better for the
government not to make the decision (regarding Aceh) by itself.
"It
has to ask all those involved to sit down together and talk. And (it
should) avoid talking about the autonomy that is in place for the
moment, because the word only means oppression for most
Acehnese," Antara quoted Syafii as saying.
He
added that the government should also restrain from referring to the
name the Unitary Republic of Indonesia, which is hated in Aceh after
years of domination by the Javanese.
"If
the operation can kill some 150 members of GAM a month, it will only
be able to kill less than 1,000 of them (in six months of the
operation). In fact, GAM reportedly has some 5,000 members," said
Syafii.
The
Muhammadiyah leader also expressed concern over the way police treated
Imam Suja’, chairman of the organization in Aceh.
The
Imam was briefly detained for questioning several days ago. Suja' is
known as a peace mediator in the province.
"I'm
suggesting police not to take a big risk by taking such unnecessary
measures. If good people, like Suja', are arrested one by one, they
will surely remove themselves even further away from efforts to end
the Aceh conflict," Syafii remarked.
At
the beginning of the military assault in Aceh, Syafii was one of the
few political leaders to urge the government of Megawati not to go
ahead with the war, warning that the military operation would not give
the expected results.
He
suggested that the government seek a peaceful solution to end the
bloody conflict in order to win the hearts and minds of the Acehnese
people.
His
criticism is a clear indication that the military has failed in
gaining the support of the Acehnese in general in this war that is
dragging over a longer period than expected.
Observers
in Jakarta told IslamOnline.net Wednesday, June 25, that they believe
the war could end quickly if the GAM was really cornered and if the
military could deal severe blows to its leadership, which seems not to
be the case.
Military
operations continued without great success in dislodging the GAM from
it strongholds and known positions.
Attempts
by the military to capture the military leaders of the movement have
also failed despite intelligence suggesting where and when the leaders
are on the move in the dense forests.
Diplomacy
Meanwhile,
diplomatic efforts by the GAM continued via the Swedish government
despite the facts that Indonesia urged the latter to arrest or deport
the political and military leaders of the GAM living there.
GAM
has never closed the diplomatic channel, talking mostly to a third
country that was not named for obvious security reasons,
IslamOnline.net was told by GAM members fleeing the war.
The
separatist movement has a wide membership, which include members of
the public in general and many of them are considered to be
sympathizers of the GAM by the Indonesian military.
There
was an improved security condition in Aceh that followed the signing
of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement by the two sides on Dec. 9
last year.
The
truce collapsed on May 19 when the government decided to launch a
military offensive
against the separatists, after the two parties failed to reach an
agreement over the implementation of the truce in Tokyo.
The
National Police headquarters in Jakarta announced that 124 civilians
had been killed since the imposition of martial law in Aceh, Antara
reported.
In
a report released by its branch office in Aceh Saturday, June 21, the
Commission on Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said,
as of June 18 a total of 176 civilians in 12 districts in Aceh had
become victims of "extra
judicial killings."
The
Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) has announced that they had retrieved more
than 180 bodies since the imposition of martial law, although they did
not say whether the victims were civilians or not.
Police
also recorded that 109 GAM members had been killed, four injured and
10 others were missing.
It
claimed that the joint troops had managed to arrest 93 GAM members,
apart from 144 others who had surrendered.
Since
the military offensive began, as many as 514 school buildings, 223
houses and 10 offices have been burned down, the police said. It did
not disclose who was responsible for the arson.
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