Govt, GAM must show commitment to peace

Aboeprijadi Santoso, Contributor, Geneva

"Take the guns out of the politics and let us together build a peaceful, democratic and peaceful Aceh within the framework of the Republic of Indonesia," said Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the office of Indonesia's Permanent Representative in Geneva, after the signing of the peace agreement with the rebel Free Aceh Movement (GAM) on Monday.

Separately, and equally adamant, Dr. Zaini Abdullah of GAM, sitting next to his boss, "the Prime Minister of Neugara Aceh" Malik Mahmud, said that GAM was still striving for an independent Aceh.

"The achievement made today is the direct result of the struggle and sacrifices of our people. It is our pledge and commitment to accept whatever democratic decision they take," said Zaini.

In other words, both sides of the conflict are still a long way from a solution in Aceh. Substantially, they still differ greatly, yet both hailed the Dec. 9 agreement as a "milestone".

For the third time -- the first and second were in January 2001 and May 2002 joint statements -- both sides confirmed their commitment, in an elaborate agreement, to respecting a democratic process in Aceh.

Unlike the earlier statements, the text this time is more elaborate, focusing on the attempt to halt the bloodshed in the province. Rather than a peace accord, this agreement is modestly called "The Cessation of Hostilities Agreement". It reflects a deep awareness on the part of both sides of the complexity of the situation and the initial nature of the steps to be taken toward a solution.

If implemented, it will begin a process toward a democratic solution in Aceh. At the same time, it is in the interest of both sides to show the international community that they are now fully committed to an agreement to end the bloodshed and hostilities.

For, unlike with the earlier agreements, the Henry Dunant Centre (HDC), as mediator, is now strengthened by U.S. Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni and two former foreign ministers (from Thailand and Yugoslavia).

Likewise, its monitoring teams will include personnel from foreign militaries, who will operate under the HDC flag.

The nine-article agreement is expected to become the basis for an all-inclusive dialog among various groups of Acehnese, which in turn will define the nature of the election in 2004 of an Acehnese administration. This point is in accordance with the May agreement, which serves as a basis for the present one. In this way it is hoped that both RI and GAM will play the game according to democratic rules.

But GAM representatives said in Geneva they were confident the dialog would not lead to an acceptance of the special autonomy package called NAD (Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam), so they hoped the process would enable the 2004 elections to choose an independent and democratic Aceh.

"There are going to be two general elections in 2004, one for Indonesia and one for Aceh. The latter will shape a new Acehnese government," said Nur Djuli, a member of the GAM delegation.

"We do not need to call it a referendum," added Malik Mahmud.

It all depends on the all-inclusive dialog in Aceh. If NAD is rejected, the Aceh elections will result in an independent Aceh. Conversely, "if NAD is agreed upon, GAM should accept that Aceh will remain part of RI", Malik said.

The Indonesian negotiator Wiryono Sastrohandoyo concurred, saying the whole process of reviewing NAD should be a democratic one. "Whatever the result, we should accept it. We are a democratic country, aren't we?"

In any case, he emphasized, the result will be a new Aceh government within the framework of the unitary state of Indonesia.

But there are numerous sensitive and substantive issues ahead. First the agreement of cessation of hostilities must be implemented and implemented successfully. The demilitarization of Aceh should result in "peace zones" where Indonesia and the Tokyo donor countries can concentrate on humanitarian and development aid.

Some observers saw the siege at Cot Trieng and the Tokyo meeting of donor countries as simultaneous military and diplomatic offenses to show Jakarta's determination to resolve the Aceh conflict "once and for all".

Indonesian delegates believe the first two months of the peace agreement will be a period of adjustment to the new norms and conditions on the ground, but that the subsequent five months should enable the two sides to proceed to the next phase -- that of defining the modalities of the all-inclusive dialog.

Meanwhile, one point is likely to be crucial, i.e. whether there will be enough monitors to control the implementation of the peace process. The agreed upon number of 150 observers (50 from Indonesia, 50 from GAM and 50 from HDC) is here seen as problematic.

But Indonesia's political czar Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, recalling his experience in the former Yugoslavia where his mission worked with some 600 military observers, said 150 observers should be effective, although he didn't seem to preclude expanding the monitoring team.

Malik Mahmud of GAM, on the other hand, expressed skepticism about the agreed upon number, but emphasized "at least now we have an agreement to start the peace process".

Some independent sources here recalled that even 1,000 lightly armed civilian UN-Civpols in East Timor -- an area much smaller than Aceh with a population only a fourth of Aceh's -- in 1999 were unable to prevent the Indonesian Army from disrupting the peace process and committing massacres.

Yet the agreement has been hailed as a great achievement by the HDC, Indonesia and GAM. In contrast to the joint statement of January 2001, however, the agreement made no reference to the human rights violations by both sides. It also only summarily refers to the role in the peace process of the civil society, many of whose members -- NGO, human rights and student activists -- were killed during the conflict.

But as an initial pact to end a bloody conflict on the ground, the agreement is generally considered to be a significant step. Having received credit for this, the HDC and both sides of the conflict now have to prove their commitment to peace on the ground. Only then will the agreement be meaningful for the Acehnese.