(14 Jul 2005)
1. Panning shot, Indonesian ambassador's residence in Helsinki
2. Wide shot of press conference by Indonesian negotiators
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Hamid Alawudin, Indonesian Minister of Justice, chief negotiator for Indonesian government:
"The proposal that we submitted to GAM (Free Aceh Movement) is that we have a commitment of ten political parties in Indonesia to be available to endorse and to nominate any GAM (Free Aceh Movement) candidate who wants to run for a mayoral position in this coming election."
4. Cutaway, delegate
5. SOUNDBITE (Bahasa Indonesia) Hamid Alawudin, Indonesian Minister of Justice, chief negotiator for Indonesian government:
"One of the concrete proposals is that there is a commitment by ten political parties to endorse any GAM (Free Aceh Movement) members to participate in the upcoming local elections."
6. Mid shot delegates
7. SOUNDBITE (Bahasa Indonesia) Hamid Alawudin, Indonesian Minister of Justice, chief negotiator for Indonesian government:
"We stated that this offer is not because we pity them, but the offer reflects the spirit of togetherness and the invitation to GAM (Free Aceh Movement) to join the political process after these three decades."
8. Pan across delegates at presser
9. Car pulling up
10. Malik Mahmud, member of GAM (Free Aceh Movement) walking into building
11. Setup shot, Baktiar Abdullah, GAM Spokesman
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Baktiar Abdullah, GAM Spokesman:
"Yeah, they have proposed a way of establishing the political parties they have proposed. And we welcome the proposal for further consideration, and if the true mechanisms really are in place I think the question of political participation would be overcome, and we are heading to an agreement."
13. Various, GAM delegates sitting in hotel garden
14. Wide shot, Radisson Hotel, Helsinki
STORYLINE:
Acehnese separatists and Indonesian negotiators appeared to be nearing a deal on Thursday to overcome the main obstacle in peace talks aimed
at ending the long and bloody conflict in Aceh province.
The two sides have been holding talks in the Finnish capital, Helsinki.
Minister of Justice Hamid Alawudin, leading negotiations for the Indonesian government, said they had proposed that the rebels be allowed to field candidates within existing Indonesian political parties in elections for town mayors in the province in August and September (2005).
Baktiar Abdullah, a spokesman for the Free Aceh Movement, welcomed the proposal suggesting that some kind of agreement could be in the offing.
Both sides have said in recent days they were nearing a breakthrough in the talks, the fifth round of negotiations since the peace process was restarted after the December 26 earthquake and tsunami that devastated the province of 4.1 (m) million people.
The issue of political representation for the rebels has been the main stumbling block, with lawmakers in Jakarta warning that allowing local parties could lead to the break-up of the country.
Indonesian law would have to be changed to allow a local political party in Aceh.
Currently, every party must have representation in at least half of the country's 32 provinces and must be headquartered in Jakarta.
The law is aimed at preventing far-flung parts of this ethnically and religiously diverse archipelago from breaking away from the central government, as East Timor successfully did in 1999.
It is generally expected that the separatists would overwhelmingly win any free vote in Aceh, allowing them to dominate the local legislature and form their own administration.
Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
