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13rd March 2000

Aceh rebels prepared to negotiate with govt

JAKARTA (IO) - The so-called Free Aceh Movement GAM yesterday announced it is ready to hold talks with the government, a spokesman said.

"Our readiness to negotiate with the Indonesian government is not because we are surrendering to the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) but to comply with demands of the people of Aceh," GAM Secretary general Tengku Don Zulfahri said, adding that the people of Aceh realize armed conflict between the GAM and TNI is not an appropriate way to resolve the Aceh problem.

Zulfahri made the announcement during an interactive dialog with Banda Aceh-based Radio Nikoya FM, detikcom reported.

T. Zainudin M. from Team 21 also participated in the dialog titled "Seeking a new alternative towards a solution in the Aceh conflict."

Zulfahri, in a letter to Radio Nikoya FM, yesterday reiterated GAM wished to negotiate with the government.

"GAM's readiness to hold a dialog (with the government) doesn't mean that we admit any fault, or that we're ready to respond to an appeal by the local military commander [Danrem 012/Teuku Umar]," Zulfahri said adding that negotiation will enable both parties to find a mutually acceptable solution. The reason behind

GAM's readiness to negotiate with the government is to heed the wishes of the people of Aceh for a political solution to the question, said Zulfahri. President Abdurrahman Wahid stated recently that he is also ready to hold talks with GAM leaders, including Hasan Tiro, provided the proposed negotiations are held within the context of the unitary state of Indonesia.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Muhammad said here last week that his country did not want Aceh to secede from Indonesia, adding that the Aceh issue remains an internal problem of Indonesia.

Zulfahri added the dialog was not prompted by pressure from either the government or the TNI.

"GAM members never have and never will surrender and vow loyalty to the unitary state of Indonesia. What is happening now is that the TNI is `engineering' the situation to force the Acehnese to surrender en masse, and therefore kill their spirit," Zulfahri wrote in his letter.

The GAM Secretary General added that any comprehensive solution to the Aceh problem requires a dialog between Indonesian political leaders and the Acehnese, and which is also witnessed by representatives of the international community.

Aceh Sumatera National Liberation Front (ASNLF) representative Tengku Abdul Wahab said over the weekend in Salt Lake City in the United States, that any negotiation between the government and the people of Aceh people should be held in the presence of the United Nations or a neutral third party.

Team 21's Zainudin added that the Acehnese themselves view the Aceh problem as a `political issue.' Therefore, he says, a solution should be found using democratic, political means and not through any armed conflict as has been carried out to date by both the TNI and GAM. ------------------