A state of civil emergency in the rebellion-hit Indonesian province of Aceh has been formally extended by six months, as the country’s president offered an amnesty to guerrillas willing to surrender.Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who issued a presidential decree ordering the state of emergency, said clemency would be shown to leaders and followers of the rebel Free Aceh Movement if they ended their three-decade insurgency.Yudhoyono, who took office last month after winning a landslide election victory, also promised to resolve the Aceh issue without foreign help, however he made no effort to spell out his plans for the resource-rich region. “The Indonesian government wants to settle the problem domestically, with a spirit of brotherhood, so that the results we all hope for will be achieved,” he said. Previous peace negotiations between the rebel Free Aceh Movement and Jakarta were facilitated by the Geneva-based Henry Dunnant Center but the talks broke down with Jakarta accusing the rebels of breaching their agreement.As top security minister under the previous government of Megawati Sukarnoputri, Yudhoyono played a key role in securing a short-lived truce. Earlier this month, the son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi offered his country’s help in resolving the conflict. Many guerrilla leaders in Aceh were previously trained in Libya. The rebels have been fighting for independence in the resource-rich but poor province at the northern tip of Indonesia’s Sumatra island since 1976. Rights groups say many of the thousands killed in the conflict were civilians.Full Story
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