Peace for Aceh as government and rebels agree accord
The signing ceremony in Helsinki followed seven months of talks mediated by former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, who spurred the two sides to agreement to help international aid reach the province that was devastated by last year’s tsunami.
The pact gives amnesty to members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and allows the region limited self-government.
It was signed by Indonesian Justice and Human Rights Minister Hamid Awaluddin and Malik Mahmud, an exiled rebel leader who was briefly jailed in Sweden last year after Indonesia accused him of terrorism. Both sides agreed to end hostilities immediately after the signing.
The accord became possible after GAM agreed to renounce a demand for full independence and disarm, and the Indonesian government said it would cut troops in the region from 35,000 to 14,700 and police from 15,000 to 9,100.
Mahmud, however, said too many troops will remain. “At the end of the process there will be around twice as many troops to be stationed in Aceh as any other part of Indonesia,” he said, after signing the pact.
He also accused the government of denying the existence of anti-GAM militias in the province.
“We know that many militia organisations do exist in Aceh, and that they are directly linked to and supported by the Indonesian army,” Mahmud said.
“Militia members have recently been saying that after GAM is disarmed they will kill GAM members.
“If GAM defends itself against these militias, this will be the excuse the [military] is looking for to relaunch military operations,” he added, and asked for support from European Union and south-east Asian monitors to control them.
Ahtisaari was upbeat about the treaty.
“This is a beginning of a new era for Aceh. Much hard work lies ahead,” he said, after shaking hands with the signatories. “It is of utmost importance that the parties honour the commitments they have made in the agreement.”
The treaty stipulates that a new law on governing Aceh will come into force by March 2006, allowing the province to retain 70% of revenue from its oil and gas.
The peace process was initiated by Ahtisaari, a former peace broker in the Balkans and Namibia.
