GAM hands over third lot of arms

GAM hands over third lot of arms

Agence France-Presse, Banda Aceh, Aceh

Former separatist fighters in Aceh province on Tuesday handed over more weapons for destruction as part of their historic peace pact with the government.

The ex-rebels met their commitment to hand over 75 percent of their arsenal by the end of the third of four disarmament phases, the military said.

The members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) handed over 57 weapons in the town of Takengon, bringing the total weapons surrendered in the third phase to 386.

"With this handover by GAM, 75 percent of the (weapon) destruction has been completed," said Aceh military commander Supiadin.

Under the pact signed in August in Helsinki, GAM will hand over its total arsenal of 840 firearms for destruction.

In return, the government will proportionately pull out all its non-local military and police units, leaving only 14,700 soldiers and 9,100 police. The fourth and final phase will take place in mid-December.

The conflict in Aceh had claimed about 15,000 lives, most of them civilians, after GAM began its struggle for an independent state in 1976.

Under the accord, GAM dropped its demand for independence in exchange for a form of local government in Aceh, a province of about four million people.

Some 3,000 former guerrillas have received state financial aid to help them reintegrate into society, foreign peace monitors said.

The "economic facilitation packages" were distributed by local governments to former fighters throughout the province, the Aceh Monitoring Mission said in a statement.

The packages, worth Rp 1 million (about US$100) each, were granted by the government as part of its pledges under the peace deal. The assistance follows earlier support for prisoners who were released under an amnesty.

The statement also said Jakarta had recently agreed to a proposed budget for longer term support in Aceh. It provides funds for land, housing and job training for former combatants and prisoners.

Support for a wide range of other victims of the conflict is also included in the budget, as well as some investment in new schools, roads and religious buildings in the worst hit areas. The peace pact was spurred by the December 2004 tsunami disaster, which left 131,000 people dead in the province.