Aceh accord bodies plan meeting to lay ground rules

Aceh accord bodies plan meeting to lay ground rules

JAKARTA (JP): Two joint committees established under the Aceh
accord signed by the Indonesian government and Free Aceh Movement
(GAM) will hold their first meeting in Banda Aceh on Wednesday to
set up the ground rules for implementing the Joint Understanding
on Humanitarian Pause.

"We expect there will be concrete basic rules to implement the
humanitarian pause before Friday (June 2)," Hassan Wirajuda
Indonesia's chief negotiator with GAM said here on Tuesday.

The Joint Understanding on a Humanitarian Pause was signed in
Geneva, Switzerland, on May 12.

To carry out the accord, two joint committees and a monitoring
team will be set up in Aceh.

The first committee, the Joint Committee on Humanitarian
Action, focuses on the effective delivery of humanitarian relief,
while the second, the Joint Committee on Security Modalities,
focuses on reducing violence.

The security committee will set up the ground rules for
humanitarian activities, guarantee the halt of military action
and ensure the police's function of maintaining law and order.

Each committee will comprise a maximum of 10 members while the
Monitoring Team will consist of five members.

Hassan said the composition of the joint committees was agreed
upon. However, he would not reveal their names.

"The Joint Committee on Humanitarian action will consist of
our people in Aceh since it will be established there," he added.

The Indonesian representatives to fill the Security Modalities
Committee are five senior officials from the Indonesian Military.
"They are two senior officers of the National Police and three
officers from the Indonesian Military (TNI)," Hassan said.

From the GAM side, the security modalities members will be
subordinate to Tengku Abdullah Syafei, the GAM armed forces
commander, he said.

The Joint Forum, which was set up in Geneva as the highest
decision-making body, consists of all the top negotiators of the
accord in Geneva.

"The Joint Forum consists of people who sat in the preceding
dialogs. It will consist of myself and Pak Hassan Tiro along with
his close aides," Hassan said, referring to the self-exiled GAM
leader.

In preparation for the accord implementation, Coordinating
Minister for People's Welfare and Poverty Eradication Basri
Hasanuddin separately held a meeting on Tuesday to draft a
program on humanitarian assistance for Aceh.

However, no details were released.

Meanwhile from Aceh, it was reported that gunmen shot dead
Samudera Military chief Lt. Katimin at about 4:30 p.m. on Monday,
North Aceh Police chief Lt. Col. Syafei Aksal told journalists on
Tuesday.

"The officer was in a VCD rental shop in Kede Gedong village
when two gunmen approached and shot him at point-blank range in
the forehead, cheek and chest," Syafei said.

The incident took place only 500 meters from Samudera Military
district office on the main road from Banda Aceh to Medan.

Witnesses said sweeping operations immediately took place
following the fatal shooting.

In West Aceh, a convoy of Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob)
soldiers were ambushed at Patek village in Sampoiniet district on
Monday evening, local police chief Lt. Col. Satrya Hari Prasetya
said on Tuesday.

No fatalities were reported after the police's Kijang van ran
over an assembled bomb which was planted on the bridge in the
village by an armed gang. The attackers fled the scene.
(08/50/dja/edt)