9 killed as Aceh peace monitors leave field offices

9 killed as Aceh peace monitors leave field offices

Nani Farida and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Banda Aceh/Jakarta

The four-month peace in Aceh appears to be nearing collapse, as
the Henry Dunant Centre (HDC) facilitating the peace process
pulled out all 100 international monitors from remote areas in
the province following the killing yesterday of nine rebels in
Aceh Pidie.

HDC has said its decision was based on security reasons and
the recent series of violent attacks on its facilities, while
both the government and security authorities have accused the
Free Aceh Movement (GAM) of violating the historic Cessation of
Hostilities Agreement signed in Geneva, Switzerland, on Dec. 9,
2002.

The decision was made amid heightened tensions in the province
caused by a series of attacks against the monitors' offices,
while Jakarta prepared to pull out of the peace deal.

HDC representative officer Steve Daly confirmed that the
international monitors would be withdrawn to Banda Aceh within
three days.

"The Joint Security Committee (JSC) agreed to temporarily
relocate the monitors to Banda Aceh until it is satisfied with
the security arrangement to ensure their safety," Daly told The
Jakarta Post.

"Our first priority is their safety and the JSC has assessed
that their safety is at risk," he added.

The HDC, with a limited authority to enforce the peace
agreement, has been facing a series of threats from certain
groups dissatisfied with the implementation of the peace deal.

The latest incident occurred on Sunday in the East Aceh town
of Langsa, where thousands of people staged a rally to close down
the HDC office.

Last Monday, about 1,000 people swarmed the HDC office in
Tapaktuan, South Aceh, protesting the failure of the HDC to put a
stop to the extortion and intimidation by Free Aceh Movement
(GAM) rebels. Early last month, hundreds of people ran amok and
ransacked the HDC office in Takengon, Central Aceh, and wounded
two foreign monitors.

The U.S. State Department has condemned the attacks on HDC
facilities. "We call on the government of Indonesia to fulfill
its responsibility to protect the international monitors and
safeguard the peace process," it said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the government said it has called for a Joint
Council meeting next week to evaluate the implementation of the
peace agreement.

It has reportedly prepared another scenario in case the
meeting should fail to ease the tension within 30 days, that of
opening a possibility for unilateral withdrawal from the
agreement.

In addition, President Megawati Soekarnoputri has ordered TNI
and the police to prepare for a possible military operation in
Aceh.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called on the international community to
understand the government's decision to maintain its territorial
integrity.

"We call on the international community to be fair; we do not
condone violence -- we love peace -- but maintaining the
country's sovereignty is our main objective," he said on Tuesday.

Daly said that the HDC had yet to receive any official request
from either side for a Joint Council meeting in the near future.

"The peace process is at its most fragile point, and we need
to see deeds and not words from both parties to continue with the
peace process," Daly stressed.

GAM has accused the Indonesian Military (TNI) of establishing
militias, as it had in East Timor, to hinder the peace process.

The worsening situation in Aceh is rooted in the two opposing
sides' failure to build mutual confidence in implementing the
peace agreement. Both sides are also guilty of misinterpreting
the agreement to further their own political agendas.

So far, neither the government nor GAM have done anything to
implement the five-month gradual demilitarization, the next step
in ending the hostilities, or to allow Acehnese civilians,
through an all-inclusive Aceh dialog, seek a comprehensive
solution to the 26-year conflict that has claimed more than
12,000 lives.

Separately, the police confirmed that their personnel had shot
and killed nine GAM members on Tuesday in four locations in Pidie
regency, a GAM stronghold in the province.

Pidie Police Chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Maryanto said that the men
were shot for illegally carrying weapons and resisting police.

The police had confiscated several weapons and bullets from
the nine dead, who were identified as GAM members by the local
spokesman of the separatist movement Elwe Dea Moertila.

"These men have been extorting money from the people and the
national police chief has instructed us to intensify raids and
patrols in the area to ensure people's safety," Maryanto told The
Jakarta Post.