160 foreign peace monitors due in Aceh

160 foreign peace monitors due in Aceh

Up to 160 foreign observers are scheduled to start arriving in Aceh on Thursday to help monitor a peace deal between the government and separatist rebels.

The monitors, due to arrive on Thursday and Friday, are part of the Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM) agreed by the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in their Aug. 15 peace deal, AMM deputy chairman Nipak Thonglek said in Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh.

"They will carry out their tasks in a number of districts in Aceh," Thonglek said, according to the state Antara news agency.

Under the agreement, the AMM will officially begin to operate on Sept. 15.

Thonglek said that before their deployment in the province, the monitors would undergo training in matters relating to background of the peace deal, the Acehnese social structure and AMM technical procedures and safety regulations.

He also said an initial team had already established nine of the 11 planned offices of the AMM across Aceh.

Under the peace deal, the AMM is tasked with monitoring the demobilization of 3,000 GAM guerrillas, the surrender of their firearms, and the pull out of non-local military and police units.

The decommissioning, weapon surrender and troop withdrawal are scheduled to be completed by Dec. 31.

The AMM comprises around 200 unarmed officials from the European Union and five contributing countries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. -- AFP