Megawati fails to take peace to Aceh

By Atika Schubert
CNN

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri visited the restive province of Aceh on Saturday bearing a message of peace. But for some participants, the talks ended in violence.

Rebels of the separatist Free Aceh rebel movement abducted five community leaders after they had just finished talks with the president.

A rebel spokesperson speaking to the local Serambi newspaper said the incident was a "meeting" rather than kidnapping, despite eyewitness accounts that armed gunmen forced the group off the road. They were released 22 hours later.

"They are already on their way home, since last night," rebel spokesperson Abu Tausi told the Serambi newspaper. "This was not a hostage taking situation."

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The incident is only the latest in a disturbing trend -- violence targeting community leaders who are seeking peace.

In the last two years, more than nine local leaders have been killed. All were actively involved in finding a peaceful resolution to Aceh's decades-long separatist conflict, whether pushing for dialogue or monitoring a ceasefire. Their involvement in the peace process made them targets of violence.

Only one day before Megawati's Aceh visit, a widely respected university rector, Dayan Dawood, was gunned down on his way home from work.

"The murder of Dayan Dawood is a strong signal of the means used to whitewash the cases of murder he fought against," a statement from the Aceh student organization, SIRA, read.

"To this day, not one of these murders has been solved."

Pleas for peace

Indonesia's new government has promised to restore law and order to Aceh through a military crackdown. This year alone, more than 1,500 have been killed in the violence.

But human rights groups say the military are perpetuating the violence and engaging in flagrant rights violations.

According to a Japanese rights group report, Indonesian soldiers massacred up to 40 villagers in East Aceh several weeks ago as part of the government's anti-separatism operation.

Acehnese community leaders meeting with Megawati appealed for her to abandon the military campaign in order to restart a dialog with separatist rebels. Instead, they demanded justice for the victims of past human rights abuses by bringing the perpetrators to trial.

Indonesian officials asked for patience in resolving the Aceh conflict.

"We cannot expect too many things from a one-day visit," said Chief Security Minister Bambang Yudhoyono on Saturday.

"It is a continuing process."