Indonesia, Aceh rebels to start new talks

By Yenni Kwok
CNN.com Writer

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- The Indonesian government is to start another round of talks with representatives of the Free Aceh separatist group in Switzerland amid continuing violence in the strife-torn Aceh province.

The two-day meeting, facilitated by Henry Dunant Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, is scheduled to start Thursday morning, following the signing of a new truce last weekend.

Nur Hassan Wirajuda, director-general for political affairs at Indonesia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the country's top negotiator with Aceh, will meet with envoys of Hassan Tiro, exiled leader of the separatist movement, in an undisclosed location near Geneva.

"The meeting will review the results of the new pact and push for further substantial dialogue between the two parties," Wirajuda was quoted by The Jakarta Post as saying.

"The main point is that we have reached agreement to reduce violence."

The Free Aceh Movement spokesman Bakhtiar Abdullah said he hopes the violence in Aceh would stop and the negotiators will agree to extend the moratorium on violence that was reached last month.

"However, if they decide to stop the violence, we still have to see the implementation on the ground," Bakhtiar said on the phone in Stockholm, where the movement operates in exile. "We already have bad signals; I heard Indonesia plans to deploy more troops in Aceh."

Code of conduct

This will be their fifth meeting in Switzerland since talks began in June last year. Both parties agreed in mid-January to have a one-month moratorium on violence that expired on Feb 15.

On Saturday, Indonesian and Free Aceh Movement negotiators in Banda Aceh, capital of Aceh province, agreed on a new code of conduct to reduce violence that would take effect for 10 days until Feb 20.

Under the new pact, both sides agreed to halt acts of violence that would cause loss of life and livelihood, stop physical attacks, kidnapping, torture, arson, intimidation, bombings, illegal arrests, harassment and ambushment.

However, like previous agreements, the pact has failed to reduce violence between the two sides.

Over a dozen people had been killed since the weekend, and Indonesian security force and Aceh separatist rebels have been involved in frequent exchanges of gunfire.

More than 120 people have been killed in Aceh since the beginning than this year despite truce agreements.

One source close to the negotiation said: "Nobody claims a success; it normally takes a long process to stop the violence."

Indonesia officials, rebels promise peace in Aceh
Seven killed in Aceh despite new truce

Indonesia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Aceh Organisation
Henry Dunant Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue

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