Disarmament boosts Aceh peace<\/p>\n
Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh<\/p>\n
Hopes for a lasting peace in Aceh received a boost on Thursday as
\nformer Free Aceh Movement separatists handed over their first
\nbatch of weapons to international monitors.<\/p>\n
Under a clear sky in a large field in Banda Aceh, dozens of
\nformer rebels wearing jeans and T-shirts presented bags of
\nweapons to Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM) representatives.
\nContaining 78 arms in all, the weapons in the bags included AK-47
\nassault rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and handguns.<\/p>\n
The 12-strong team of monitors inspected each weapon and then
\nfed them into a circular saw, cutting them into pieces.<\/p>\n
The arms are part of some 210 weapons scheduled to be handed
\nover to international monitors by Saturday as part of the
\nHelsinki peace deal, while the remainder of 630, will be handed
\nover by year's end. The deal stipulates that in return, in the
\nnext few weeks the government must pull out some 7,000 non-local
\nsoldiers and police, out of total of 32,000 set to leave the
\nprovince. Another 25,000 will stay behind.<\/p>\n
The peaceful disarmament proved that the government and GAM
\nwere committed to make the peace deal a success, AMM chief Pieter
\nFeith said after overseeing the handover.<\/p>\n
Feith said the AMM had asked GAM for the names of its 3,000
\nmembers so that monitors could ensure their rights were not
\nviolated after they returned to their villages.<\/p>\n
GAM spokesman Irwandi Yusuf, meanwhile, told AP he had mixed
\nfeelings about the peace process.<\/p>\n
\"We have had to let go of our heroes, the defenders of our
\ndignity, our people and our land. But we have completed our
\nmission of bringing the Acehnese people to this stage.\"<\/p>\n
Observers hope the Helsinki peace deal will be the opportunity
\nfor GAM and the government to end almost 30 years of conflict,
\nwhich has claimed more than 15,000 lives. Mistrust on both sides
\nmeant two earlier deals reached in 2000 and 2002 collapsed.<\/p>\n
Under the agreement, GAM has agreed to dissolve as a military
\norganization and drop its demand for independence. In return, the
\ngovernment has promised an amnesty and full political rights for
\nGAM members, released political prisoners and is in the process
\nof withdrawing more than half of the estimated 57,000 soldiers
\nand police currently stationed in the province of 4 million
\npeople.<\/p>\n
The government has also promised to provide former GAM members
\nwith small plots of land and money in order to help them
\nreintegrate into Acehnese society.<\/p>\n
It remains unknown, however, whether time will heal old wounds
\nas former rebels settle near the families of pro-nationalist
\nAcehnese or settlers from other parts of the archipelago.<\/p>\n
\"This will be a test for the government, whether they can
\nreally manage peace well,\" Rufriadi, a human rights activist with
\nthe Banda Aceh chapter of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute said
\nto AFP.<\/p>\n
While still in its infancy, the only incident that has so far
\nthreatened the peace deal was a minor skirmish on Sept. 3, when a
\ngroup of GAM members reportedly fired on Indonesian soldiers in
\nNorth Aceh regency, injuring two. Pieter Feith earlier condemned
\nthe rebels for violating the agreement.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/disarmament-boosts-aceh-peace-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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