Acehnese councillors demand local role in saving peace pact

Acehnese councillors demand local role in saving peace pact

Kurniawan Hari and Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Members of Aceh's provincial legislature demanded on Tuesday that
the government involve them and community leaders in any
discussions seeking a solution for the troubled province, instead
of involving foreign peace brokers.

The councillors said they thought the Geneva-based Henry
Dunant Centre (HDC) did not contribute to the peace process,
despite the fact that it brokered a peace agreement between the
Indonesian government and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) on Dec. 9 last
year.

The speaker of the legislature, Tengku Muhammad Yus, expressed
his regret that the government did not consult them or ask for
their ideas on how to settle Aceh's problems.

"The government, the Aceh administration and the Aceh leaders
have to sit down together to formulate an effective solution for
Aceh's problems," Yus told the media after leading nine Aceh
councillors to a hearing with People's Consultative Assembly
(MPR) Speaker Amien Rais.

He said that instead of helping solve the Aceh conflict, the
HDC had created more problems.

But he did not specify what problems had resulted from HDC's
involvement in the dialog.

While blaming HDC for the slow peace process in Aceh, the Aceh
councillors lashed out at local administrations in Aceh for their
failure to familiarize the public with the Cessation of
Hostilities Agreement (COHA) signed last December.

The incompetence of the local administrations have brought
difficulties for Aceh's resolution, Yus said.

Amien shared the councillors' view, saying that the government
should not ignore the aspirations of the Acehnese in deciding any
policies for the province.

He suggested that the role of the HDC be replaced by a forum,
representing the central government, the Acehnese and local
administrations.

Amien added that it was high time for Indonesians to solve
Aceh's problems themselves without getting foreign groups
involved.

"The government will say farewell to the IMF, so it is high
time to thank the HDC for its contributions," he added.

Separately, Ermaya Suradinata, the governor of the National
Resilience Institute (Lemhannas), suggested that the government
intensify its dialog with local people in Aceh and cut its
relationship with the peace facilitators at the HDC on the
grounds that the center had failed to bring peace to the
conflict-torn Aceh province.

"What the government needs to do is create peace for the
Acehnese instead of making peace with Aceh rebels. Because once
we offer peace to the rebels, they will only make demands for
freedom," Ermaya said on the sidelines of a seminar commemorating
the institute's 38th anniversary on Tuesday.

"If the military option is the only choice, the government has
to make every effort to protect its civilians and I think this
(protecting civilians) is supposed to be the goal of the
operations there," Ermaya said.

Hidayat Nurwahid, the chairman of the Prosperous Justice Party
(PKS), said that the government should hold a dialog with the
Acehnese before deciding to launch a military operation in the
province because "they have the right to decide their own fate".

"As for my concern, the decision to apply a military approach
may create a lack of coordination on the ground between security
personnel and local people. Therefore, the government should give
civilians access to a dialog in which people can convey their
views about a military operation," Hidayat said.

Hidayat also asked GAM rebels to realize that their attempts
to separate from the unitary state of Indonesia were
"unrealistic" and demanded that the rebels not use people as a
human shield.

"Their (GAM) strategy of buying time has angered the
government. If GAM is fighting for the sake of the prosperity of
the Acehnese, then they should consider all the consequences that
could result by delaying the dialog with the central government,"
Hidayat said.