Aceh peace to be prominent in SBY's speech
Aceh peace to be prominent in SBY's speech
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is preparing his first state
of the nation speech to be presented to the House of
Representative on Aug. 16, in which he is slated to report on the
peace talks between the government and the Free Aceh Movement
(GAM).
"Of course, the results of the peace negotiation, including
the signing of the truce, will be presented to the House,"
Minister of Communications and Information Sofyan Djalil said on
Friday in response to a media question about the issue.
He was speaking after a Cabinet meeting Susilo presided over
with a view to preparing his speech.
The peace agreement is expected to be signed on Aug. 15 in
Helsinki. It remains undecided, however, as to who will sign the
peace deal on behalf of the government.
Sofyan was one of the government negotiators over five rounds
of peace talks, which were initiated after the killer tsunami
swept coastal areas of Aceh and Nias on Dec. 26, leaving almost
130,000 people dead.
Sofyan said the state of the nation address would be concise
in nature as the President had only one hour in which to deliver
it.
"The President will present all the achievements made by the
government in the last one year. However, there will be a lot of
attachments, which will outline the details of the achievements
and problems that need to be reported to the House," the minister
said.
He refused to elaborate on what topics would be covered by the
speech.
"It will be a speech of the same standard as previous state of
the nation speeches delivered every Aug. 16," Sofyan said.
By convention, the country's president is required to deliver
a speech to the House on Aug. 16 to mark the anniversary of the
country's independence.
The speech usually highlights the achievements of development
programs in various fields and the implementation of policies to
address domestic and international issues.
The Aceh issue has sparked controversy in the House, although
its leaders have expressed their support for the peace deal.