Casualties down, but violence continues in Aceh

Casualties down, but violence continues in Aceh

Ibnu Mat Noor
and Nani Farida
The Jakarta Post
Banda Aceh/Lhokseumawe

Civilian casualties have dropped significantly in Aceh in the
past month, but violence has not stopped entirely in the
country's westernmost province.

One month after the government and the Free Aceh Movement
(GAM) signed a peace agreement to end all hostilities, a total of
14 people, including 11 civilians, were killed in the resource-
rich province, a sharp decline from an average of 87 casualties
per month prior to the peace deal.

"The decreasing fatality rate is the main indicator of the
strong commitment from both sides (the government and GAM) to
implementing the Dec. 9 peace agreement," Fahmi Yunus, manager of
the information unit with the Joint Security Committee (JSC) told
The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

In Lhokseumawe, North Aceh, some 3,000 people staged a rally
Thursday to demand that the government withdraw Indonesian
military (TNI) troops from Aceh for good.

Although police said they had not issued a permit for the
rally, the protesters were permitted to stage their rally under
guard of the local police personnel.

North Aceh Police Chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Eko Daryanto said that,
since the organizers had not received permission from police
authorities to hold the rally, protesters from outside
Lhokseumawe were restrained from joining the protest.

Over 4,000 people in North and East Aceh have taken refuge
within mosque compounds as armed skirmishes between TNI and GAM
continued, even after the signing of the peace agreement on Dec.
9.

The government and GAM signed the Agreement on Cessation of
Hostilities in Geneva, Switzerland, on Dec. 9, marking the
turning point of the 26-year conflict in Aceh. Both parties also
agreed to end any hostile acts and violence, which would be
central to determining whether or not the peace agreement would
succeed.

A Joint Security Committee (JSC) and monitoring teams were
also established within the first month of the cease-fire.
Monitoring team members consist of representatives of the
government, GAM and the Henry Dunant Centre (HDC).

TNI and GAM agreed on Dec. 26 to inform each other on their
respective movements through the JSC by reporting to the
committee 48 hours before the scheduled move. Neither party is
allowed to attack the other after they have received the movement
report from JSC.

TNI and GAM also agreed to comply with an accord on sanctions
imposed upon violators of the peace agreement, Fahmi said, adding
that the sanction, as determined by the JSC, would be of a moral
penalty, such as the widespread publication of the perpetrator in
the mass media.

Another progress was the deployment of 90 monitoring team
members, although the number still fell short of the 150 members
agreed to by both parties.

Monitoring teams consisting a total of 72 personnel were
deployed on Dec. 28, while 18 members were deployed on Jan. 7.
The teams are mostly stationed in North and East Aceh.

Acehnese have expressed positive reactions to the implementa
tion of the peace agreement.

"Before the signing of the peace accord, we had no courage to
till our farms, because of the many gunfights between TNI and
GAM, but now we even dare to go home at night from our farms,"
56-year-old farmer Abdul Majid said.

Fahmi concurred with Abdul's statement, saying that he had no
fears of coming home at night, from his office in Banda Aceh to
his residence, which is located outside the city.

"That's my personal experience; there's been very positive
progress here," he said.