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).