Criticism mounts against Aceh foreign monitors
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Criticism about the contents of the peace accord between the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) continued on Friday, with legislators questioning the role of the foreign monitoring mission that they said was too powerful and was an "internationalization" of a domestic conflict.
Legislator Sutradara Gintings from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said the memorandum of understanding (MOU) had given the Aceh Monitoring Mission, which comprised of peace monitors from the European Union (EU) and five ASEAN countries, excessive powers to settle possible conflict during the implementation of the peace deal.
"The mission's tasks show that it doesn't only monitor, but also rules on disputes and on complaints and alleged violations. The mission's decision is binding and cannot be vetoed," Sutradara said during a discussion here on Friday.
The MOU's sixth article on dispute settlement says that all disputes should be discussed collectively between parties, but all final decisions would be in the hands of the mission.
Should dialog fail to bring agreement, the mission would then deliberate with Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs, GAM leader, the chief of the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI) and the EU political and security committee, the MOU says.
A decision would then later be drawn up by the CMI, which was the facilitator of the informal peace talks that led to the signing of the MOU on Monday.
"If we take a look at former conflict facilitators in other countries, like in Moro, Cambodia or Vietnam, they didn't get such great authority," said Sutradara, a member of the House Commission I on defense and foreign affairs.
"Don't you think it's too much to give such overwhelming authority to people we don't know? People whose real intent we don't know ... people who don't grasp the spirit of Indonesia?" he said.
Former Army deputy chief of staff Lt. Gen. (ret) Kiki Syahnakrie said the government could not guarantee that the foreign mission would be fair in its dealings.
"No one's monitoring them. They can monitor and decide and cannot be vetoed, but who can ensure their independence? Who can ensure that what happened in Timor Leste wouldn't recur?" he told the discussion.
Indonesia lost Timor Leste in 1999 after the former province voted for independence during a United Nations-sponsored referendum. Shortly before the referendum, the former Indonesian province was administered by United Nations Temporary Executive Authority (UNTEA).
But Golkar legislator Theo L. Sambuaga, who chairs the House's Commission I, said the presence of the mission was nothing unusual.
"When there's a conflict, it's normal to have a third party that is deemed as neutral as a facilitator. It needs to have powers to make sure that neither parties cheat or stray from the agreement," he said.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda agreed.
"There is an opinion that the Aceh Monitoring Mission comprising foreigners from EU and ASEAN will 'internationalize' the Aceh problem. We have to first understand the nature of their presence in Aceh: They are invited by us to help us implement the MOU. This is something that everyone has agreed upon, or in other words, their presence is in line with our interests."
"Members of AMM are bound by the rules of the game, which are stated in the MOU and later in the Status of Monitoring Agreement (SoMA). So please don't use the term 'internationalization' just because they are foreigners," Hassan said on Friday at a separate event.