Deputy Governor urges public to continue safeguarding Aceh peace

Banda Aceh (ANTARA) - Aceh Deputy Governor Fadhlullah has urged all members of the public to always safeguard peace in Aceh, especially in commemorating the 21st anniversary of the Aceh peace agreement, or the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in Helsinki, Finland in 2005.

“My message to all the people of Aceh is: let us maintain harmony and sustainable peace. There is no benefit in turmoil,” Fadhlullah said in Banda Aceh on Saturday.

The statement was delivered to journalists after he attended the 21st Aceh Peace Day commemoration organised by the Aceh Reintegration Agency (BRA) at Balai Meuseuraya Aceh in Banda Aceh.

The appeal was also made in response to the waving of the GAM flag, or the crescent-and-star flag, in the courtyard of the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque in Banda Aceh by a crowd, which led to a disturbance on Saturday (15/8).

Regarding the incident, Fadhlullah said that he himself was one of the historical actors during the Aceh conflict and a former GAM combatant, but that the disturbance had brought losses to Aceh.

“We are historical actors. I am also a former GAM combatant, so fighting brings no benefit to us,” he said.

He added that, as a result of the prolonged conflict, Aceh experienced economic pressure and fell far behind other provinces in Indonesia.

“We have already felt slow economic growth. When other provinces could already run, we were still being born and getting ourselves organised,” he said.

Fadhlullah therefore called on the people of Aceh to continue nurturing peace, as this is an opportunity for Aceh to improve itself and rise from economic backwardness.

“This is our opportunity. With peace in place, let us rise through the economy, so that our people can grow and Aceh can grow into a land that is baldatun toyyibatun warobbun ghofur,” Fadhlullah said.