'Dialogue must be entered into in a spirit of sincerety and honesty and not as part of a trap.'

'Dialogue is not possible while war is being waged..; terrorists are the only ones who try to force their will on others.'

'Stationing of vast numbers of troops in a colonized territory is a strategy practiced by all colonial powers.'

1. ASNLF (GAM) has always fully respected all efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict between Acheh and Indonesia. The principal aim of such a peaceful solution is to prevent innocent civilians or non-combattants, the one always been targeted by the Indonesian military, from becoming victims. However, this doesn't mean that Acheh can be pushed by the Republic of Indonesia into to accepting a formula for dialogue dictated unilaterally by Jakarta. Dialogue must be entered into in a spirit of sincerety and honesty and not as part of a trap. The statement of a senior Indonesian official to the effect that the Indonesian government will no longer enter into any dialogue with the ASNLF and proposing that the ASNLF should conduct dialogue with Indonesian government stooges in Acheh is very unwise. The RI government should know that it is not the ASNLF that has been pressing for dialogue.
2. As far as the ASNLF is concerned, dialogue is not possible while war is being waged. Dialogue is only possible once the fighting has stopped. Civilized nations everywhere in the world who behave in an ethical way certainly know this. Terrorists are the only ones who try to force their will on others. It is cowardly for Indonesia to aim its weapons at civilians in an act of revenge against the ASNLF.
   

On the matter of the WAR
As far as the ASNLF is concerned, war is the final resort and must be conducted in accordance with the The Hague and the Geneva Conventions, something which the Indonesian Government has still not understood. War should be avoided at all costs, but if it has to be fought, all ASNLF soldiers will fight with honour: combattants against combattants. We demand that the Indonesian side agree to uphold the laws of war of which it is a signatory. Although the Indonesian side has not yet ratified Supplementary Protocol II of the Geneva Convention, this does not mean that it may act as it pleases in violation of the Humanitarian Laws that are universally recognized.

On the matter of the setting up a KODAM (Regional Military Command) in Acheh
The stationing of vast numbers of troops in a colonized territory is a strategy practiced by all colonial powers. In this modern era, when there is only one colonial power left in the world, namely Indonesia, the international community sees such a strategy as primitive and which should be abandoned. The Indonesian government knows very well that the eyes of the world are focused on the presence of a huge number of Non-Organic troops in Acheh, which already number 70 000 men. Moves to form the KODAM is intended to make these non-organic troops organic. The Indonesian government uses the pretext that the formation of KODAM is in response to the wishes of the people of Acheh. This is a blatant falsehood. People still remember the vehemence with which the people of Acheh opposed the formation of KODAM, holding many demonstrations. Probably what Indonesia means when it talks about the people of Acheh is those within the political elite serving the interests of the Indonesian government in Acheh. Abdullah Puteh, Indonesia's Governor of Acheh, is one of them and he is the one who has asked for more troops to be sent to Acheh and for a KODAM to be established in Acheh. By so doing, we fear that Abdullah Puteh has forfeited his rights as a civilian in a war situation. Maybe Abdullah Puteh should clarify his position to the people of Acheh. A civilian who consciously chooses the military way or adopts a hostile position should be regarded as a combattant with everything that this means. We call on all civilians in Acheh to remain loyal to their civilian status.

Thank you.

Tiro Central Command, Teungku Sofyan Dawod ASNLF Military Spokesman. (end of translation)