Acehnese beat drums for peace

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.