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HDC representative officer Steve Daly confirmed that the international monitors would be withdrawn to Banda Aceh within three days.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