Acehnese beat drums for peace
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Thousands of Acehnese are expected to participate in the two-day rapa i pase drum festival starting on Sunday as part of their support for the signing of the long-awaited peace deal between the government and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) next week.
The festival will include a massive prayer gathering and the beating of 144 rapa i pase, Aceh's traditional drum, by 288 players for 24 consecutive hours. They will traverse Aceh's roads from Banda Aceh to Lhokseumawe to Perlak, and back to Panton Labu in North Aceh.
Panton Labu is the area from where the festival of rapa i pase originates. Rapa i pase is usually celebrated during traditional ceremonies or on historical occasions.
Other events will be in the form of traditional entertainments inside the gubernatorial compound as well as a rally by 100 pedicab drivers.
"The beating of the drums is a kind of announcement to the public that Aceh people will soon live in peace after over 30 years of conflict," Aceh information agency official Yusran was quoted as saying by Antara.
Yusran said the 288 drummers would be conveyed in a convoy of around 200 cars, which would make several stops in villages along the way.
At each stop, he said, the parade would be welcomed by similar rapa i pase celebrations by local villagers, reflecting the wide hopes for peace in the resource-rich province.
Calls for a lasting peace in Aceh resurfaced early this year following the devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunamis in December that claimed almost 150,000 lives.
The government and GAM are slated to sign a peace arrangement on Aug. 15 to terminate the decades-long armed conflict there, which has killed thousands of civilians.
Both parties last month concluded the fifth and final round of informal peace talks in Finland's capital of Helsinki, facilitated by the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI).
Results of the latest talks, which have yet to be fully revealed by the parties, have drawn mixed reactions ranging from support to criticism, particularly on the possible creation of local political parties in Aceh and the involvement of foreigners as observers.
Another crucial point in the talks was the granting of an amnesty to former GAM members, which the government said would be given on a selective basis, with rebels convicted of "ordinary crimes" not being eligible.
The government and the House of Representatives are scheduled to hold a consultative meeting on Tuesday to present and exchange opinions on the full results of the latest talks and their implementation.
Meanwhile, dozens of foreign journalists from Europe, the United States and Australia are readying themselves to cover the situation in Aceh following the signing of the peace agreement on Aug. 15.
Yusran said a number of journalists had already been granted permits, while others were still being processed. But the process was expected to be completed before the signing date, he added.