Acehnese figures call for immediate peace

Acehnese figures call for immediate peace

Ibnu Mat Noor, The Jakarta Post, Lhokseumawe

A number of Acehnese figures called on the Henry Dunant Centre
(DHC) to work hard to ensure that the two warring sides in the
province signed the proposed peace agreement as soon as
practicable.

The Acehnese figures made the call during an introductory
meeting with HDC officers in Bireuen, some 130 kilometers east of
Banda Aceh, the capital of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, on Monday.

Sofyan Ali, a member of the Bireuen regency legislative
council, said the Acehnese people, who had suffered greatly
during the almost three-decade-long war, wanted the conflicting
sides to lay down their arms and make peace.

"The HDC should work harder to bring the two conflicting sides
to the negotiating table to sign the peace agreement. These three
decades of hostilities must be halted to avoid any more victims
among the people. We need to be sure about the peace agreement
and law enforcement.

"We are now only living skeletons. We are awaiting for peace
to become real in Aceh. We need no more empty promises either
from GAM or the government. We need only concrete action to make
peace," he said during the gathering.

Tengku Nuruzzahri, the director of an Islamic boarding school
in the town, questioned the HDC's presence in Aceh while the
killing kept on going.

He said he was skeptical that the HDC would be able to
facilitate peace.

"The conflict may be only a ploy by each of the conflicting
sides to take political advantage and steal Aceh's resources," he
said cynically.

Zulfikar, a local informal leader, regretted that the
prolonged conflict had destroyed freedom of expression among
local people.

"It's impossible now for people to say the truth as they would
be risking their lives. Those who speak the truth die at the
hands of either the military or the rebels," he said, adding that
the HDC should play a neutral role and provide protection for
people telling the truth.

Sean Paterson, the HDC's deputy project officer, said peace
would only emerge in Aceh after the proposed peace agreement had
been signed by the conflicting sides.

"But, we are very optimistic that both sides will sign the
peace agreement as both Indonesia and GAM are serious about
ending the conflict despite differences on certain minor
matters," he said.

William Dowell, the HDC spokesman, called on the Acehnese
people to be patient as the two sides had made progress toward
bringing about permanent peace in the province.

Separately, Maj. Gen. Djali M. Jusuf, chief of the Iskandar
Muda Military Command overseeing security in the province, warned
that his troops would continue to besiege the GAM headquarters in
Cot Trieng, North Aceh, until GAM signed the peace deal.

GAM has delayed the signing of the peace deal for an
indefinite period, while the government is adamant that it must
be signed on the 17th day of the Muslim month of Ramadhan (or
Nov. 23 by the Gregorian calendar).