Government taking Aceh partition demand seriously

Government taking Aceh partition demand seriously

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government and lawmakers are listening to demands for the
partition of Aceh into three provinces, even though it may
infringe on the peace agreement that has put an end to three
decades of armed conflict there.

House of Representatives Speaker Agung Laksono said on
Wednesday the government would not prevent people from demanding
the establishment of new provinces in Aceh, citing the regional
autonomy law which allows such aspirations.

"The government will comply with the existing procedures, and
there will be no privileges given to the new provinces such as
Aceh is now enjoying," Agung told reporters after a meeting with
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Vice President Jusuf Kalla,
People's Consultative Assembly Speaker and Regional
Representatives Council Speaker Ginandjar Kartasasmita at the
State Palace.

Minister of Home Affairs M. Ma'ruf said the government took
the demand into consideration, but would not give it a priority.

"We are still devoting our energy to the post-tsunami recovery
program and implementation of the MOU," he told reporters,
referring to the peace deal signed by the government and Free
Aceh Movement (GAM) in Helsinki in August.

Ma'ruf said it would require a lengthy and complicated
procedure to create a new province, therefore those who support
the partition of Aceh would have to think twice whether to go
ahead with their proposal.

Calls for the formation of Aceh Leuser Antara (ALA) and
Southwest Aceh (ABS) provinces separate from the resource-rich
Aceh mounted soon after the signing of the truce. Demands for the
establishment of Aceh Leuser Antara, however, started several
years ago.

On Tuesday, a group of Aceh figures rallied in Jakarta to push
for the establishment of the two new provinces at the House of
Representatives building in Central Jakarta.

One of the figures, speaker of the Bener Meriah legislative
council Tagore Abubakar, said the partition was necessary to
improve people's welfare that the current Aceh administration had
failed to do.

If formed, Aceh Leuser Antara would comprise Central Aceh,
Southeast Aceh, Aceh Singkil, Gayo Lues and Bener Meriah
regencies, while Southwest Aceh would consist of South Aceh,
Northwest Aceh, Aceh Jaya, Semeulue and Nagan Raya regencies.
Currently Aceh is divided into 20 regencies and mayoralties.

In Banda Aceh, Aceh provincial legislature speaker Sayed Fuad
Zakaria supported the partition move, saying it was legitimate.

"We councillors welcome it. If it is the people's voice, the
central government must consider it wisely," he was quoted by
Antara.

Sayed said that the Aceh council would not attempt to prohibit
the demands even though it had previously rejected such moves in
July.

He said the council was focusing on debating the draft bill on
Aceh governance in line with the peace agreement.

Under the deal, both the government and GAM recognize Aceh's
territory as has been in place since 1956, which is exactly the
same as it is now. The province covers 55,390 square kilometers
of the northern tip of the island of Sumatra.