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Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri said in a televised speech Tuesday that the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) had failed to pay respect for a peace process to end conflict in restive Aceh that prompted the government to launch military operation.
"The government has been very, very patient with the protracted talks with the separatist group who called themselves GAM (the Free Aceh Movement) and treated them with all respects whether they are at home or in foreign countries.
But they (GAM members) have never complied with the peace process and committed to armed attacks, extortion and acts of terrorism," she said.
"It is a heavy heart that I must declare Aceh in a state of danger and impose the emergency military status," she said.
The remarks was the first spoken by Megawati since she signed a presidential decree authorizing the use of force to deal with GAM on Monday, following the collapse of Tokyo talks over the weekend.
GAM has been struggling for an independent state in Aceh since 1976.
(Xinhua News Agency May 21, 2003)
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