Acehnese pray for lasting peace accord
Acehnese pray for lasting peace accord
BANDA ACEH, Aceh (JP): Thousands of Acehnese thronged mosques
and schools on Friday to pray for the success of a peace accord
being signed in Geneva between separatist rebels and the
government.
The largest gathering involved over 100,000 people, who were
seen attending continuous mass prayers since morning at
Baiturrahman Grand Mosque here.
"We all hoping this works out. Please don't let the people
down ... I cannot imagine what it would be like if the peace
accord fails," Iqbal Faraby, chairman of the Aceh branch of the
National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), said.
In schools throughout Banda Aceh, thousands of children prayed
for an hour starting at 7:30 a.m. for an end to the years of
violence.
Before he left for Switzerland to attend the signing ceremony,
Aceh governor Syamsuddin Mahmud called for "quiet and peaceful"
prayers to support the accord.
Separately, in a rare meeting with journalists, the Aceh Besar
regional commander of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), Abu Tazurra,
reaffirmed the group's commitment to withdraw forces from the
field and refrain from violence.
Speaking from a rebel base camp hidden in the mountainous
Seulawah area, some 60 kilometers east of Banda Aceh, Tazurra
said that with the withdrawal GAM forces should no longer be held
accountable for any trouble which might erupt.
However, he stressed that the signing of the accord should not
be seen as a relinquishing of the groups determination for a free
state.
"We will keep on fighting for independence, and in the
meantime we wait for further instruction from Wali Negara (Hasan
Tiro). Don't ever think that our spirit will die," Tazurra said.
"We want independence but not by sacrificing civilians. This
pause is a good opportunity to achieve our goal through
diplomatic channels."
"But we will fight if security forces launch repressive
actions toward us," Tazurra, wearing military uniform, told
journalists.
The situation at the base was calm and normal, with most of
the rebels unarmed. Only after journalist asked to take
photographs did they pull out their guns.(50/51/edt)