Foreign observers?

Foreign observers?

With the prospect of reaching an agreement between our
Republic and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), some politicians are
beginning to think of having foreign observers on our soil to act
as referees and watch that both sides observe and follow what was
agreed on in the talks.

If an agreement is reached then this means that there will no
longer be a GAM, nor is there an independent Aceh. The whole
"struggle" of a group calling itself GAM will have finished and
the whole province of Aceh, now called Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam
(NAD), will legally be a province like all the other provinces in
Indonesia, which means it has to act and live based on the 1945
Constitution.

Even if an agreement is reached in a foreign country, it still
means that NAD is coming back (repeat, coming back) into the fold
of the Republic proclaimed on Aug. 17, 1945, and there is no
special treatment necessary that needs to be watched over and
observed by foreigners.

The initiative coming from the Vice President is only a
proposal to continue talks if necessary in a foreign country, to
convince GAM that its existence is finished and NAD will come
back into the fold of the Republic of Indonesia. So this is
purely a domestic matter and nothing special is needed that would
justify the presence of foreign countries or organizations to
watch what is going on.

For the sake of the Acehnese, GAM should realize the suffering
brought about by their fight for independence, not forgetting
what nature (tsunami) has caused in Aceh on top of all the
difficulties already experienced. We all want peace, so together
we can start building the country, with our own strength, and
bring about a free and happy living for all. And for these
efforts we do not need foreign observers.

SOEGIH ARTO
Jakarta