Acehnese pray for peace as hopes fade for conflict to end

Acehnese pray for peace as hopes fade for conflict to end

Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

Hundreds of Acehnese people held a mass prayer at the
Baiturrahman Mosque in Banda Aceh on Sunday to pray that the
Indonesia-Free Aceh Movement (GAM) peace talks, scheduled for
Dec. 9, 2002, would end the 26-year bloody conflict.

Meanwhile, delegations from both sides are heading to
Switzerland with hopes fading that the peace accord, proposed by
the Henry Dunant Centre (HDC), which has facilitated the dialog
since 2000, would be signed during the meeting.

Muntasir Hamid, chairman of the Banda Aceh society organizing
the mass gathering, said the prayer was held to show all,
including the two opposing warring sides, that the Acehnese
people were tired with the conflict and wanted peace.

"The conflict, which has brought suffering to tens of
thousands of Acehnese for more than two decades, must be stopped
and we are here to pray for the peace talks that will resume on
Monday," he said.

The last meeting between the two conflicting sides was held on
May 9 through May 10, 2002, with GAM accepting special autonomy
as a starting point to seek a comprehensive solution to the Aceh
issue.

Chairman of the local ulemas' association (MPU) Muslim Ibrahim
said what people really wanted was just peace and were not
concerned which side would rule in Aceh.

"What we do need is not GAM nor the government but a
referendum to determine the future of the province. Now is a good
time for the Acehnese people to determine their own future," he
said, adding that peace talks scheduled for Monday were much
needed to end hostilities and to pave the way for further talks
to solve the Aceh issue comprehensively.

Four GAM negotiators -- Teungku Amni Bin Ahmad Marzuki, Teuku
Kamaruzzaman, Teungku Muhammad Lampoh Awe and Teungku Amdi --
departed for Geneva after attending Idul Fitri prayers on Friday,
while Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono led the Indonesian delegation to the
peace talks.

Hassan Tiro, GAM leader in exile, was reported to be leading
the GAM delegation at the meeting.

Acehnese figures and politicians have hailed the planned
peace talks as a fundamental cornerstone to promote a
reconciliation in the oil- and gas-rich province. They called for
the trial of human rights abusers in the past, the eradication of
poverty and the rehabilitation of infrastructure damaged during
the war.

Indonesia, especially the military, has stepped up pressure on
GAM to sign the proposed peace accord. Besides besieging GAM's
hiding place in Cot Trieng, North Aceh, the military has
threatened to go all out in the battle to quell the rebellion
should GAM decline to sign the peace deal.

Kamaruzzaman lashed out at the military's posturing, saying
the peace accord would only be signed if the meeting proceeded in
a democratic fashion.

"We will not bow to military pressure to accept the peace
accord should it not benefit the Acehnese people's interests," he
said.

He added GAM would continue to fight changes in the proposed
accord requiring GAM to lay down its arms unreservedly, but would
accept special autonomy status in Aceh.

"To make the truce effective, both sides should lay down their
arms and should go to the negotiating table to seek a
comprehensive solution," he said.

Human rights activist from the Aceh Referendum Information
Center (SIRA) Faisal Ridha said there would no longer be a
problem in the future if both sides were allowed to keep their
arms. "Of utmost importance is that security officers are
punished should they use arms without permission from their own
commanders or institutions."