Aceh's Tiro district declared second peace zone

Aceh's Tiro district declared second peace zone

Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

Thirty-year-old Mardiah and her son Fauzan ran to an empty field
to witness the declaration on Saturday of Tiro, a remote district
in Pidie regency, as a second peace zone in Aceh.

Mardiah was excited to witness the event, which brought with
it hope for an end to the violence and killing that has plagued
the area.

"All of the villagers are happy about the declaration of the
district as a peace zone because we want to live in peace,
without terror and intimidation. That's why we are here," she
told The Jakarta Post moments before the ceremony, held near the
office of the Tiro district chief.

Most of those attending the ceremony were women and children.
Mardiah is one of hundreds of widows in the area whose husbands
were killed either by security personnel or rebels from the Free
Aceh Movement (GAM).

Despite the peace accord recently signed by the Indonesian
government and GAM, several villagers have been killed in
gunfights with security personnel and many other have fled
because of terror and intimidation.

More than 150 adult men in the district's 19 villages were
killed as the tension between the military and GAM escalated in
the two years before the signing of the peace pact.

Members of the Joint Security Committee (JSC), which is
monitoring the peace process in Aceh, on hand to declare the new
peace zone were greeted with cries of "Aceh merdeka" (Aceh
independence) and GAM flags raised along the eight-kilometer path
to the remote district.

Many of the women attending the ceremony cried in joy and
children raised GAM flags during the ceremony, which was guarded
by dozens of police officers.

Tiro, some 120 kilometers east of Banda Aceh, is the second
district to be declared a peace zone, following Indrapuri in Aceh
Besar regency. The declaration of peace zones, which is part of
the demilitarization process agreed to in the cessation of
hostilities agreement, began on Feb. 9.

During the five-month demilitarization, which will last until
July 9, GAM is required to lay down its arms and put them in
storage areas overseen by the Henry Dunant Centre (HDC), which is
facilitating the peace process.

At the same time, military personnel are required to withdraw
to defensive positions and Mobile Brigade personnel are to return
to normal police duties.

The demilitarization process, aimed at ending the bloody
conflict in the process, is a prerequirement before the Acehnese
can begin to seek a comprehensive solution to the Aceh issue
through an all-inclusive dialog.

JSC deputy chief Brig. Gen. Nagamora Lamodag said that with
the declaration of Tiro as a peace zone, the Indonesian Military
(TNI) would not be allowed to deploy personnel to the district
and GAM could not conduct activities in the district.

"We hope Tiro will be a second Indrapuri," he said, alluding
to the fact that Indrapuri had been peaceful since it was
declared a peace zone last month.

During the ceremony, David Gorman, the HDC project manager,
said: "Peace needs brave men. It's so easy to make war, but
creating peace needs brave men."

A local resident, Nyak Maneh, 60, said residents of the
district would now be free to leave their house without fear.

He also called on security forces and GAM to comply with the
declaration and help create a permanent peace in the district and
eventually in the entire province.

Mardiah said most residents in the district wanted Aceh to
separate from Indonesia, because the Indonesian government had
oppressed the Acehnese for too long.