RI begins final troop withdrawal from Aceh<\/p>\n
Reuters, Lhokseumawe<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Military (TNI) began the final phase of troop
\nwithdrawals from tsunami-hit Aceh province on Tuesday under a
\npeace pact that ended one of Asia's longest running civil wars.<\/p>\n
Officials said 1,621 troops and six tanks were leaving on two
\nlarge ships in Lhokseumawe port in Aceh.<\/p>\n
Under the peace agreement brokered last August in Sweden, TNI
\nhas gradually drawn down its forces in the resource-rich province
\nin step with the rebels of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) turning
\nin their weapons.<\/p>\n
An international monitoring body said GAM had reached the
\nfinal target of handing in 840 weapons on Monday.<\/p>\n
The military had said it would proceed with its fourth and
\nfinal troop withdrawals, although by its standards it only
\nconsidered 769 of the weapons GAM had offered as acceptable.<\/p>\n
\"Regarding the shortage of GAM weapons, there has to be an
\nofficial statement to the AMM (Aceh Monitoring Mission). Today's
\nwithdrawal is the commitment of TNI to making the MOU a success,\"
\nAceh army chief Supiadin told reporters, referring to the
\nMemorandum of Understanding signed by the two sides.<\/p>\n
GAM, the monitors and the military have differed throughout
\nthe process on what weapons met the standards of the agreement,
\narguing over whether they need to have been manufactured or could
\nbe homemade, and which should count as workable.<\/p>\n
However, the disputes have never reached the point of posing a
\nserious obstacle to the process, which has gone more smoothly
\nthan even most optimists expected.<\/p>\n
On Monday after announcing the monitors considered GAM had
\nreached the target, the chief of the monitoring mission, Pieter
\nFeith had said GAM would also provide a written confirmation that
\nformer combatants had given up all weapons, ammunition, and
\nexplosives.<\/p>\n
GAM said it would comply as well with a military request to
\nsee if there were any additional weapons it could turn in before
\nDec. 31.<\/p>\n
\"I would like to confirm (that) if there's any more weapons in
\nthe field, we would like to submit them by the end of the year,\"
\nsaid Irwandi Yusuf, GAM's senior representative to the monitoring
\nmission.<\/p>\n
The 30-year war between the two sides had killed some 15,000
\npeople, mostly civilians.<\/p>\n
GAM and the government signed the peace pact after months of
\nnegotiation spurred on by the Dec. 26 tsunami that smashed into
\nIndian Ocean coastlines.<\/p>\n
That disaster left around 170,000 Acehnese dead or missing and
\ncreated pressure for the two sides to end their conflict and open
\nthe way for a massive international recovery and rebuilding
\nprogramme.<\/p>\n
The Aug. 15 truce requires Indonesia to cut troop and police
\nlevels in Aceh to no more than 14,700 soldiers and 9,100 police.<\/p>\n
Prior to the pact, it had more than 35,000 soldiers and 15,000
\npolice in the province on the northern tip of Sumatra island.<\/p>\n
With the weapons handover now complete and troop withdrawals
\nset to conclude, security experts say the next challenges are
\nfinding jobs for demobilized fighters and satisfying rebel
\ndemands for political participation in Aceh.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-begins-final-troop-withdrawal-from-aceh-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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