Aceh rebels disband armed wing

INDONESIA’S Aceh rebels formally disbanded their armed wing yesterday, fulfilling the next step of a tsunami-inspired peace plan to end one of Asia’s longest separatist conflicts.

Sofyna Daud, a former rebel commander, said: “The Acehnese national army, or the armed wing of the Free Aceh Movement, has demobilised and disbanded. The Aceh national army is now part of civil society and will work to make the peace deal a success.”

The action would take effect immediately, he said.

It paves the way for the group, which has fought a bloody uprising against government troops for almost 30 years, to transform itself into a political party that is expected to win strong support at provincial elections planned for April.

The news came shortly after rebels met Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province that was worst hit by the Indian Ocean tsunami.

The devastation spurred the peace deal, under which the government will withdraw troops and grant the Acehnese special autonomy in exchange for the rebels laying down their guns.

Indonesian authorities and the separatists had been moving toward peace talks before the tsunami, but the disaster forced both sides to focus on ending the war.

Peace talks opened in January and were wrapped up by July. The rebels gave up their demands for a referendum like the one that ended Indonesian rule in East Timor in 1999, while the government promised them broad autonomy and allowed them to take part in regional elections.