Aceh peace still faces major hurdles, ICG says

Aceh peace still faces major hurdles, ICG says

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The efforts to create lasting peace in tsunami-devastated Aceh
have been more successful than expected thus far, but the process
has now entered a critical stage, a report says.

In its latest update on the Aceh peace process, the
International Crisis Group said that since the peace agreement
was signed in Helsinki on Aug. 15, the political will of the
government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to keep the process
moving forward had led both to take risks.

"Those risks appear to have paid off. The threat of militia
violence has not materialized, and amnestied prisoners have
returned home without incident," the Brussels-based organization
said.

Under the peace deal, GAM dropped its long-held demand for
independence, while the government amnestied the former rebels
and promised to allow them to form a political party.

GAM has also to surrender its weapons in exchange for a major
pullout of military and police personnel from the province.

The government released GAM prisoners two weeks before
decommissioning began, and by the end of the third stage of a
four-stage process last month, GAM had turned in more weapons
than expected, the ICG noted.

"What has been achieved so far is a real credit to the
government and GAM," ICG President Gareth Evans said.

The report said the future prospects of the peace process
would depend on the success of the reintegration of former GAM
members into civilian life and the legal process of incorporating
the provisions of the agreement into legislation.

The ICG noted that many combatants who had returned
spontaneously to their communities were now mostly unemployed.

Disagreement between GAM leaders and the government over the
making of cash payments to facilitate reintegration was also
holding up more comprehensive programs to establish new
livelihoods, the report said.

"If the problem is not resolved, the danger in the long term
is that bored or jobless ex-combatants will turn to crime or seek
to resume fighting," ICG said.

The second hurdle is the legal process of incorporating the
provisions of the agreement into a new law that must be adopted
by lawmakers in the House of Representatives.

"The transformation of GAM from an armed movement to a
political one hinges on this law, particularly its provisions on
local political parties and the mechanics of local elections,"
the report said.

"The question is whether the parliament will accept the
Acehnese draft without serious revisions."

The House had initially opposed the peace deal. It recently
threatened to derail the deliberation of the Aceh governance bill
unless the government provided details of the peace agreement and
its consequences.

The ICG noted that a fresh potential sticking point had
recently emerged: whether there would be a provision in the law
allowing for the division of Aceh into smaller provinces.

Demands have been mounting from people claiming to represent
11 of Aceh's 20 regencies in the highlands and part of the west
coast for the establishment of two new provinces.

GAM has opposed the move, citing the peace agreement which
recognizes Aceh's territory as it is now.

"Such a reference (to allowing division) could undermine the
consensus in Aceh around the current draft and ultimately, the
peace itself," the group warned, adding however that overall it
was upbeat about future prospects.