---------------------------------------------------------- FREE for JOIN Indonesia Daily News Online via EMAIL: go to: http://www.indo-news.com/subscribe.html - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - FREE - Please Visit Our Sponsor http://www.indo-news.com/cgi-bin/ads1 ---------------------------------------------------------- Aceh rebels see victory, Indonesia's breakup [For purposes of clarification, this is a statement from a GAM commander. The NGOs which organised Monday's mass rally are quite distinct from GAM and have their own political agenda. As reported yesterday by Suara Pembaruan, the organisers insisted that GAM slogans should not be used at the rally. TAPOL] PIDI, Indonesia, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Separatists in Indonesia's restive province of Aceh said on Tuesday they were poised for independence from Jakarta and expected to see a disintegration of the world's largest archipelago. ``We are supporting the struggle of our children who demand a referendum for an independent Aceh. We will defend our country, Aceh,'' Tengku Abdullah Syafii, commander of the Free Aceh Movement, told Reuters in Pidi, about 150 km (90 miles) east of the provincial capital, Banda Aceh. ``We are sure Indonesia will break up soon...that will be the victory of the Aceh people. The struggle of the Aceh people has reached a joyful point...in order to achieve immediate independence,'' he said. The central government is facing demands for independence from Jakarta's rule from several areas of the vast archipelago of 17,000 islands. These include the Molluccas islands, Irian Jaya and Aceh. East Timorese voted overwhelmingly in August for independence, which sparked a violent backlash from pro-Jakarta militias. Syafii said an independent Aceh would be a constitutional monarchy, just like in Britain, the Netherlands and Japan. This was a reference to Hasan di Tiro, exiled leader of the Free Aceh Movement, becoming the leader of a would-be independent Aceh. 07:36 11-09-99 ------------- Indonesia's Wahid excludes military action in Aceh MANILA, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid wants a peaceful settlement to independence calls in Aceh province and does not want to send in the military to quell the restiveness, a Philippine government official said on Monday. ``He thinks that if you get people to sit around in the spirit of mushwarah (dialogue), then you would be able to get them to understand each other's position and get them to agree that the best way out of this issue is to talk peacefully and to talk at length,'' Executive Secretary Ronald Zamora said after the Indonesian leader held talks with President Joseph Estrada. ``He wants to see this peacefully settled. He doesn't want to send in the military to settle this dispute,'' Zamora added. Wahid was in the Philippines as part of a whirlwind tour of Southeast Asian nations following his election last month. He plans to return to Indonesia from Manila later on Tuesday and will postpone a visit to the United States because of Aceh, presidential palace sources in Jakarta said. At least half a million people came out on the streets of Aceh's capital, Banda Aceh, on Monday to demand a referendum on whether to break away from Indonesia. It was the biggest separatist protest in Indonesia's history. Zamora said Wahid and Estrada spoke for less than 30 minutes but struck a good rapport and agreed on some common positions for an Association of South East Nations (ASEAN) summit later this month in Manila. Indonesia and the Philippines are both founder members of ASEAN. Other members include Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Didistribusikan tgl. 10 Nov 1999 jam 06:51:26 GMT+1 oleh: Indonesia Daily News Online <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.Indo-News.com/ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
