Aceh rebels set to delay peace talks with Jakarta

JAKARTA, Indonesia (Reuters) -- Separatists in Indonesia's Aceh province said on Monday they would not resume peace talks until soldiers and police stopped harassing independence supporters.

Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) were due to meet on Thursday in Geneva to seek a peaceful end to more than two decades of bloodshed in the territory on the northwest tip of Sumatra.

"We will temporarily put off the talks because the security situation in Aceh is far from conducive," GAM spokesman Amni Marzuki told Reuters from the provincial capital, Banda Aceh.

INTERACTIVE MAP Fragile Archipelago -- a look at conflict areas in Indonesia and environs

"There have been tremendous violations of human rights done by the Indonesian military and police to civilians in Aceh. Security here is not guaranteed."

At least 14 people died after police blocked Acehnese trying to travel to Banda Aceh for a big pro-independence protest at the weekend.

On Saturday, thousands rallied in support of demands for an East Timor-style independence vote for resource-rich Aceh.

Talks still on, Indonesia says

The rally drew up to 10,000 people at Banda Aceh's Baiturrahman Grand Mosque, 1,700 km (1,060 miles) northwest of Jakarta.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry said it believed the peace talks would go ahead as planned.

"We still intend to continue the talks. Furthermore, things like this give us more reason to talk," spokesman Sulaiman Abdulmanan to Reuters.

"If they put off these talks, there will be no communication between us and that means a substantial solution for Aceh moves farther away from our reach."

Asked what would bring GAM back to the negotiating table, Marzuki said: "It's up to our leaders in Sweden, but we need to know if Indonesia will take care of these problems of officers slaughtering civilians."

GAM leader Hasan Tiro has lived in self-imposed exile in Sweden since 1979, three years after he declared Aceh's independence. No country recognises the declaration.

Human rights groups are demanding an investigation into the recent violence.

"There must be an audit from the international community... a thorough investigation," said Aguswandi, who heads the Aceh division of Indonesia's Kontras human rights group.

"Aceh people are disgusted with the behaviour of the security officers. They even had the nerve to commit violence in Banda Aceh. This surely has made the Aceh people hate them more."

President Abdurrahman Wahid on Friday accused rogue soldiers of stirring up trouble.

Police deny charges

Police have said most of the victims were active GAM members.

Senior soldiers and police have been critical of the ceasefire, in place since early June, saying it has simply made it easier for the rebels to attack them.

Jakarta views staunchly Muslim Aceh as potentially the most dangerous of its wayward provinces and fears independence there could stoke other separatist causes and ultimately trigger the break-up of the world's fourth most populous nation.

Demands for independence in Aceh have been fuelled by years of human rights abuses and resentment over what is seen as Jakarta siphoning off wealth from Aceh's natural resources, including wealthy gas fields.

Wahid, struggling to keep his multi-ethnic country intact, has promised greater autonomy for the region, including the implementation of Islamic sharia law.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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