Govt plans settlement mechanism for Aceh<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government is now focused on formulating a dispute settlement
\nmechanism, if violence arises after the peace deal with the Free
\nAceh Movement (GAM) has been signed.<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security
\nAffairs Widodo AS said on Tuesday that the mechanism was crucial
\nto prevent either side from making a decision to immediately call
\noff the hard-earned peace deal if a dispute occurred.<\/p>\n
\"I think there must be rules and a mechanism on how to resolve
\npossible disputes. (We'll) formulate this (the dispute settlement
\nmechanism),\" Widodo told reporters as quoted by Antara.<\/p>\n
He said that through the mechanism, any dispute would be
\nresolved in stages before a final decision was made.<\/p>\n
His statement came amid reports that a village head in Aceh
\nwas shot on Sunday evening, the latest deadly incident before the
\nofficial signing of the peace accord between the government and
\nGAM on Aug. 15 in Helsinki.<\/p>\n
AFP reported that M. Nasir, the head of Lhok Sialangcut
\nvillage in South Aceh, was shot dead at his home in front of his
\nwife and children.<\/p>\n
GAM and the TNI each took turns blaming the other.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Military (TNI) accused three GAM rebels of
\nbeing behind the attack. Head of the local district military
\ncommand Lieutenant Colonel Jamhur Ismail was quoted as saying
\nthat the three were among 13 rebels who went to Nasir's house and
\nare believed to be followers of local rebel leader Annawi.<\/p>\n
But GAM denied the accusations, with one official saying that
\nthe TNI statement was part of its efforts to sabotage the Aug. 15
\npeace agreement.<\/p>\n
The current peace process was a result of the last peace talks
\nthat finished in Helsinki on July 17, in which GAM agreed to drop
\nits decades-long demand for independence of the oil-rice Aceh
\nprovince, but in return the rebels would, among other things, be
\ngiven amnesty and the Acehnese people would be allowed to have
\nfull political representation by forming local political parties.<\/p>\n
The peace talks were made more urgent following the Dec. 26
\ntsunami, which killed over 129,000 people in Aceh and destroyed
\nmuch of the coastal infrastructure.<\/p>\n
The last truce, agreed upon in December 2002, collapsed six
\nmonths later, partly due to continuing violence, with both sides
\nblaming the other. That is the situation that ostensibly led the
\ngovernment to impose martial law and launch a huge military
\noffensive against the rebels in May 2003, which further increased
\nthe number of victims in the more than 30 years of conflict to
\nmore than 15,000 fatalities.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, Widodo said that the dispute settlement mechanism
\nwas expected to be completed before Aug. 15. This mechanism
\nwould provide the basis for the foreign monitors tasked to
\noversee the implementation of the peace deal in Aceh.<\/p>\n
Peace monitors from the European Union and members countries
\nof the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) will
\nsupervise the implementation of the peace accord.<\/p>\n
Their tasks will include overseeing the disarmament of rebels
\nand the withdrawal of TNI troops once the peace pact is signed.<\/p>\n
Foreign monitors assigned to supervise the peace deal in 2002
\nwere forced to withdraw due to escalating violence targeting
\ntheir district offices.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-plans-settlement-mechanism-for-aceh-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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