Indonesian treaty to end world’s oldest war

THE Indonesian government and rebels from Aceh province yesterday signed a landmark accord to end the 26-year separatist war on the tip of Sumatra island.

But the two sides left the issue of disarming the province to further negotiation.

The accord, signed in Geneva, Switzerland, grants Aceh wide-ranging autonomy but not does not allow for independence. The war has claimed 12,000 lives in the past decade.

"Both sides have thus agreed that, from now on, enmity between them should be considered a thing of the past," said the six-page accord.

The war, which has roots going back more than 130 years, is considered one of the world's oldest armed conflicts.

"Given the firm commitment of both sides for peace, I see no reason why we cannot obtain this goal we so desire," said Wiryono Sastro Handoyo, the top Indonesian government negotiator, after signing the accord.

Zaini Abdullah, who signed for the leadership of the Free Aceh Movement, said: "The achievement today is the direct result of the struggle and sacrifices of our people."

The insurgency has been dubbed "The Forgotten War" because it never attracted international public attention in the same way that other conflicts, such as East Timor, did. But Aceh is seen as the most dangerous of Indonesia's many internal conflicts because of the rebels' insistence on independence and the government's resolve not to allow the province to break away a move that many believe would lead to the disintegration of the ethnically and religiously diverse nation of 210 million

people.

If the solution envisaged by the peace agreement which also provides for

autonomy and control over revenues from the province's timber and natural gas

resources proves successful, it could also be implemented in other trouble spots.

The peace accord sidestepped the sensitive issue of disarmament and demilitarisation of Aceh, a Holland-sized province of 4.1 million people on the northern tip of Sumatra island. Instead, a joint security committee consisting of all parties to the peace agreement was tasked with "designing and implementing a mutually agreed upon process of demilitarisation".

Andy Andrea, a spokesman for the Henry Dunant Center negotiator of the accord said the idea was to have the rebels store their weapons in designated areas, which would be regularly checked by the team of 150 independent monitors, including military officers from the Philippines and Thailand.