Megawati, Acehnese pray for lasting peace<\/p>\n
Nani Farida and Ibnu Mat Noor, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh, Aceh<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri joined some 2,000 people in a
\nprayer for peace in Aceh on Tuesday, eight days after the
\ngovernment and separatist rebels signed a deal to cease 26 years
\nof hostilities.<\/p>\n
A large banner reading "The People Love Peace" was hung
\noutside the Grand Baiturrahman Mosque in the provincial capital
\nof Banda Aceh, where Megawati attended the solemn prayer.<\/p>\n
She arrived at 5:30 p.m. in Banda Aceh for a two-day visit
\nalong with many ministers, and was welcomed by Aceh Governor
\nAbdullah Puteh and other high-ranking local officials. The
\npresident later headed directly to the mosque.<\/p>\n
In her five-minute speech during the prayer, Megawati said she
\nwas optimistic that Aceh would recover in two years, if the peace
\nwas maintained.<\/p>\n
"This is not mere flattery, and I am confident that the dream
\nimagined by the Acehnese people and myself will come true in the
\nnear future," she said.<\/p>\n
The peace accord signed on Dec. 9 in Geneva by the government
\nand the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) "marks a new page in life, but
\nonly the Acehnese people can write the pages of the future," she
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Megawati stressed that peace had been awaited "for so long,
\nnot just by the Acehnese, whom I love, but by all Indonesians."<\/p>\n
Joining Megawati were Coordinating Minister for Political and
\nSecurity Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Coordinating Minister
\nfor People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla, Coordinating Minister for the
\nEconomy Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, Indonesian Military Chief Gen.
\nEndriartono Sutarto and National Police Chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar.<\/p>\n
The head of state ended her speech by calling on the Acehnese
\nto continue their prayers and thanksgivings for peace.<\/p>\n
Governor Puteh said the Acehnese people had doubted Megawati's
\npromises made previously to stop the bloodshed in the resource-
\nrich province.<\/p>\n
"People here thought it was only political jargon, but it has
\nnow become reality with the signing of the peace agreement," he
\ntold the crowd at the mosque.<\/p>\n
Farhan Hamid, a House of Representatives member from Aceh,
\npraised Megawati's speech as "direct and logical." "I thank
\nMegawati for not making lofty promises as she did during her
\nprevious visit," he added.<\/p>\n
On the sidelines of Megawati's prayer however, a young man
\nheld up a 50 x 60 centimeter banner at the rear of the mosque,
\nwhich read: "Let the Acehnese determine their own fate".<\/p>\n
The unidentified man was later arrested by police in Banda
\nAceh for questioning. "The youth seems to know nothing. He was
\napparently hired to raise the banner. Now he has been taken out
\nfor dinner and will soon be released," Maj. Taufik, a local
\npolice officer, said.<\/p>\n
After the prayer at Baiturrahman Mosque, the president was to
\nhave dinner at the governor's official residence, where she would
\nstay overnight.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, she will visit a development exhibit and meet
\nprovincial and district officials and legislators before flying
\nhome.<\/p>\n
Some 2,000 troops as well as police had been deployed to guard
\nthe president's visit, the third since she took power last year,
\nbut the first time she will have spent the night in Aceh.<\/p>\n
No other president apart from her father, Sukarno, has
\nreportedly stayed overnight in Aceh.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, local community members told Megawati to use the
\nvisit to give Acehnese people her honest commitment to enforcing
\nthe peace deal. She must stop solving the conflict through
\nsecurity and military approaches and instead, should move ahead
\nwith a peaceful dialogue, they added.<\/p>\n
Ibrahim, a local resident, said the President must be able to
\ncontrol all security forces deployed in Aceh following the peace
\nagreement to prevent more violence.<\/p>\n
"Megawati's two-day visit should not merely be aimed at
\nperforming a prayer at the Baiturrahman Mosque, which she can do
\nin Jakarta. She must offer a solution for the province by
\nensuring that peace and justice will be restored in Aceh," he
\nsaid.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/megawati-acehnese-pray-for-lasting-peace-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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