Ex-rebels to rejoin Aceh bureaucracy

BANDA ACEH, Aceh: The Aceh provincial civil service administration board is collecting data on civil servants who joined the rebel movement, so it can begin the process of rehiring them as part the recently signed Helsinki peace deal.

Head of the board M. Yusuf Sulaiman said his office was working with the national civil service administration board and the regional governments in Aceh in registering the civil servants who joined the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

"We do not know how many of them there are. Neither have we determined the rehiring procedure," Yusuf said.

The government has granted amnesty to all persons who participated in GAM activities as part of the peace agreement signed on Aug. 15. The former rebels will also be reintegrated into the society to ensure a lasting peace. -- Antara