JAKARTA Indonesia said on Sunday it will crack down on separatist rebels in Aceh Province and refuse to extend a troubled cease-fire if they don't resume peace talks within seven weeks.
Attorney General Marzuki Darusman told Reuters the ultimatum, awaiting Parliament's approval, could be issued soon to the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) which has suspended talks because of killings by Indonesian soldiers and police.
Darusman said a cease-fire in place since June 2 and which expires on January 15 had not helped efforts to end decades of bloodshed and had been used by the rebels to slaughter Indonesian security forces.
"Yes, we are preparing an ultimatum for GAM," he said. "We will not extend it (the cease-fire). Why? because we think it has not helped us in settling problems in Aceh.
"Some elements of GAM have now more forceful and somewhat acting with impunity. We have lost hundreds of police and soldiers.
On the other hand, we have been very restrained." Arms Crackdown Darusman said the government would soon order police and troops to strictly enforce bans on civilians carrying weapons, but said a full-scale military operation was a last resort.
Police and soldiers butchered thousands of mostly unarmed civilians, including children, during a full-scale military operation in the resource-rich, strongly Muslim province from 1989-98, human rights investigations have found.
A special parliamentary committee meeting on Sunday voted to continue seeking dialogue with the rebels, and left open the option of the ultimatum, the satunet.com News Portal reported.
"We are trying the best we can to make this dialogue option (work)," Satunet quoted Chief Security Minister and former General Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono saying after the session. "If we find any barriers, we can talk to Parliament to find a solution." A senior military source told Reuters on Sunday the armed forces were preparing for a government order for tougher action in Aceh.
But he said police would lead the crackdown, rather than the army.
The military complains the cease-fire has given the rebels the opportunity to build up their forces and attack patrolling troops.
The rebels and Jakarta were due to resume a series of peace talks in Geneva this month, but refused to do so after Indonesian forces killed several people in Aceh ahead of a major pro-independence protest in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, about 1,700km (1,060 miles) northwest of Jakarta.
Jakarta said those killed were active members of GAM.
The cease-fire has done little to lessen the bloodshed, with dozens dying on both sides.
Civil Emergency Indonesia has said it may declare a state of civil emergency one step below martial law in Aceh as a last resort.
Such a move allows security forces to impose a curfew, search houses and detain suspects. But it is more symbolic than meaningful because they often do this anyway.
Demands for independence in Aceh, at the northwestern tip of Sumatra, have been fuelled by years of human rights abuses and resentment over what is seen as Jakarta's siphoning off of wealth from Aceh's oil and gas resources.
President Abdurrahman Wahid has promised greater autonomy for the region, including implementation of Islamic Sharia law in the staunchly Muslim province.
But he has ruled out moves leading to a breakaway of the province, fearing it could trigger a domino effect in other separatist regions.
(Reuter)