Finland's old Kvnigstedt building revives hopes for peace in Aceh

Innocentius Christianto, Contributor, The Jakarta Post/Helsinki

The fourth round of the informal Aceh peace talks in Helsinki has just ended with both parties billing the negotiations as "progressive and constructive", and a good sign for a likely agreement in August after a fifth round of talks scheduled for next month.

The stage for the negotiations, Finland's Kvnigstedt Manor, was chosen by the Crisis Management Initiative mediators. The beautiful 19th Century building saw the Indonesian government and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) negotiators move slowly closer to a solution for the three-decades old conflict.

It helped, negotiators said, that they were able to discuss the often thorny issues in such a quiet and picturesque environment; a place they admitted calmed their frequently frazzled nerves.

Located in Riipild, on a bend of the Vantaa River, some 15 kilometers from the center of Helsinki, history traces the manor back to the year 1511, however, the present structure was built in 1816 with a series of renovations and adjustments made later.

The two-story building and land covers 62 hectares and includes a 38-hectare forest about 5 kilometers from the main building. Built in the Empire and Biedermeier styles, the grounds include a turf-roofed sauna and a chapel dating from 1925.

"We held our meetings, either joint or parallel sessions, on the first floor," Indonesian government chief negotiator and Minister for Justice and Human Rights, Hamid Awaluddin, said

"It's beautiful. I used to walk outside near the water to refresh my mind after tense talks. But now the process has become much friendlier and is in a more conducive atmosphere," he said.

Hamid said Kvnigstedt was the perfect choice for a negotiation venue, as the participants could enjoy the beautiful Finnish scenery during the spring.

"During breaks, I sometimes walked alone near the river and sat for a while ... It's good this season. So green. On several occasions, Martti Ahtisaari (the CMI president and former Finish prime minister who facilitates the talks) accompanied me and we chatted for a while about topics outside the negotiations while we polished out shoes," he said.

GAM negotiator Bakhtiar Abdullah agreed about the venue.

"It's a nice place, especially as it is located near a river. I wish I could row a boat across the river rather than have these tough negotiations," he said jokingly.

As journalists were kept away from negotiations, it was only the manor's antique objects -- paintings, drawings, sculptures and other art -- that bore witness the negotiators' robust and often tiring debates.

Hamid admitted he was so "intellectually exhausted" after one round of heavy negotiations that he cracked bad jokes upon arriving at the residence of the Indonesian Ambassador to Finland, Iris Indira Murti, where the Indonesian delegates stayed during the peace talks.

"(However) the hard times are over. There was a time when I had to pound the table during the talks. I knew when I had to just sit and listen and when I had to talk a lot, especially when it came to legal issues," Hamid, a law school graduate, said.

However, there was less chance for relaxed conversation between the two delegations outside the meeting rooms, he said.

"But I did have a chance to talk with Malik Mahmud (the chief representative of GAM). We talked about our families and his dream, that one day he wants to have a Bugis boat. I think we behaved ourselves properly inside and outside of the negotiation room," said Hamid, a native Bugis of South Sulawesi.

Indonesia, he said, was serious in its efforts to reach an enduring peace in Aceh.

Minister of Communications and Information Sofyan Djalil, another Indonesian government delegate, said the talks showed the world Indonesia was committed to finding an end to the conflict.

"There is a very strong political will from the government to solve this problem politically. The House of Representatives gave us a mandate and we are serious about finding a peaceful solution for Aceh," Sofyan, an Acehnese, said.

Bakhtiar, meanwhile, said GAM's presence in Finland was proof enough of the group's goodwill. "Why would I be here if we were not serious," he told The Jakarta Post.

But he admitted GAM could only ever be "cautiously optimistic" about any progress made in the talks.

Whatever the outcome, the quiet, wooden walls of Kvnigstedt, in a place a world away from Sumatra and Java, will be the first to know.

The writer is a freelancer. He can be reached innocent@uninet.net