Acehnese councillors demand local role in saving peace pact<\/p>\n
Kurniawan Hari and Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Members of Aceh's provincial legislature demanded on Tuesday that
\nthe government involve them and community leaders in any
\ndiscussions seeking a solution for the troubled province, instead
\nof involving foreign peace brokers.<\/p>\n
The councillors said they thought the Geneva-based Henry
\nDunant Centre (HDC) did not contribute to the peace process,
\ndespite the fact that it brokered a peace agreement between the
\nIndonesian government and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) on Dec. 9 last
\nyear.<\/p>\n
The speaker of the legislature, Tengku Muhammad Yus, expressed
\nhis regret that the government did not consult them or ask for
\ntheir ideas on how to settle Aceh's problems.<\/p>\n
"The government, the Aceh administration and the Aceh leaders
\nhave to sit down together to formulate an effective solution for
\nAceh's problems," Yus told the media after leading nine Aceh
\ncouncillors to a hearing with People's Consultative Assembly
\n(MPR) Speaker Amien Rais.<\/p>\n
He said that instead of helping solve the Aceh conflict, the
\nHDC had created more problems.<\/p>\n
But he did not specify what problems had resulted from HDC's
\ninvolvement in the dialog.<\/p>\n
While blaming HDC for the slow peace process in Aceh, the Aceh
\ncouncillors lashed out at local administrations in Aceh for their
\nfailure to familiarize the public with the Cessation of
\nHostilities Agreement (COHA) signed last December.<\/p>\n
The incompetence of the local administrations have brought
\ndifficulties for Aceh's resolution, Yus said.<\/p>\n
Amien shared the councillors' view, saying that the government
\nshould not ignore the aspirations of the Acehnese in deciding any
\npolicies for the province.<\/p>\n
He suggested that the role of the HDC be replaced by a forum,
\nrepresenting the central government, the Acehnese and local
\nadministrations.<\/p>\n
Amien added that it was high time for Indonesians to solve
\nAceh's problems themselves without getting foreign groups
\ninvolved.<\/p>\n
"The government will say farewell to the IMF, so it is high
\ntime to thank the HDC for its contributions," he added.<\/p>\n
Separately, Ermaya Suradinata, the governor of the National
\nResilience Institute (Lemhannas), suggested that the government
\nintensify its dialog with local people in Aceh and cut its
\nrelationship with the peace facilitators at the HDC on the
\ngrounds that the center had failed to bring peace to the
\nconflict-torn Aceh province.<\/p>\n
"What the government needs to do is create peace for the
\nAcehnese instead of making peace with Aceh rebels. Because once
\nwe offer peace to the rebels, they will only make demands for
\nfreedom," Ermaya said on the sidelines of a seminar commemorating
\nthe institute's 38th anniversary on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
"If the military option is the only choice, the government has
\nto make every effort to protect its civilians and I think this
\n(protecting civilians) is supposed to be the goal of the
\noperations there," Ermaya said.<\/p>\n
Hidayat Nurwahid, the chairman of the Prosperous Justice Party
\n(PKS), said that the government should hold a dialog with the
\nAcehnese before deciding to launch a military operation in the
\nprovince because "they have the right to decide their own fate".<\/p>\n
"As for my concern, the decision to apply a military approach
\nmay create a lack of coordination on the ground between security
\npersonnel and local people. Therefore, the government should give
\ncivilians access to a dialog in which people can convey their
\nviews about a military operation," Hidayat said.<\/p>\n
Hidayat also asked GAM rebels to realize that their attempts
\nto separate from the unitary state of Indonesia were
\n"unrealistic" and demanded that the rebels not use people as a
\nhuman shield.<\/p>\n
"Their (GAM) strategy of buying time has angered the
\ngovernment. If GAM is fighting for the sake of the prosperity of
\nthe Acehnese, then they should consider all the consequences that
\ncould result by delaying the dialog with the central government,"
\nHidayat said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/acehnese-councillors-demand-local-role-in-saving-peace-pact-1447893297",
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