Govt makes peace deal message to Acehnese

Nani Farida and Berni K. Moestafa, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh/Jakarta

Indonesia's negotiation team in the peace agreement with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) began disseminating details of the accord to the people of Aceh on Sunday, while government troops and GAM in South Aceh were spotted embracing each other.

Chief negotiator Wiryono Sastrohandoyo arrived in the province's capital Banda Aceh with a mission to publicize last week's landmark peace agreement between Indonesia and GAM.

Speaking before a packed crowd at the city's main mosque Baiturrahman, he said the agreement was a starting point for the war-torn province to strive toward peace, democracy and improved welfare.

"The agreement could be signed because of the prayer of the people of Aceh," said Wiryono. "However, we must all work hard to realize (the agreement)."

Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh attended the meeting as did hundreds of civil servants who wanted to hear the details first- hand. Copies of the peace agreement were also handed out during the meeting.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri will give the accord a moral boost, as she plans a one-day visit on Tuesday to the province, where she will hold a prayer at Baiturrahman Mosque.

Several ministers will accompany her, yet despite the peace accord, security measures remain tight with about 2,000 soldiers on standby.

According to the peace agreement, public dissemination of its contents should be held within a month of the signing.

The first two months under the peace agreement is meant to allow both warring sides to observe each others' compliance with the cease-fire before the delicate process of disarming and relocating troops begin.

In the five months following, GAM would disarm itself while at the same time, Indonesian troops would retreat to defensive positions.

In charge of conflict resolution and peace monitoring will be the Joint Security Committee (JSC), comprising representatives of GAM, the government and the Henry Dunant Centre (HDC), and includes an independent monitoring team of foreign military observers from Thailand and the Philippines.

The agreement also supports an election in 2004 to establish a "democratically elected government in Aceh." The deal, however, did not discuss the details of a political process in Aceh.

Indonesia signed the peace agreement on Monday last week in the biggest breakthrough so far, after two and a half years of negotiations with GAM. The talks were held under the auspices of the Swiss-based Henry Dunant Centre.

The Indonesian Military (TNI) has reportedly begun dropping flyers across some parts of the province, informing locals about the peace agreement. Many parts in the province, however, are isolated, especially in villages under GAM control.

Puteh said his side had established "informal contact" with high-ranking GAM officers. "Quite frankly, I have had informal contact with my brothers on the GAM side in Aceh through the telephone," he was quoted as saying by Antara on a separate occasion Sunday.

He added that the atmosphere had been relatively peaceful so far. "In some places, such as in South Aceh, our brothers from GAM have visited police and military posts and embraced officers there."

According to him, other GAM members were seen in the district of Idi in East Aceh, where they shared a meal with Regent Azman Usmanuddin.

"All troops of GAM are no longer going around carrying their weapons. Some of them have gone home to see their families and to live among the local population," said GAM commander Sofyan Dawod as quoted by AFP.

Puteh added that senior military officers in South Aceh had even told their troops not to return fire if possible, should GAM attack them.

Separately, TNI Chief Endriartono Sutarto said in Surabaya, "We are not in an offensive position anymore and are no longer pursuing (GAM). We will only return fire if forced to."

The seven-point peace agreement focuses on the cessation of hostilities between government troops and GAM's military wing.

Previous deals to cease hostilities ran aground on recurrent skirmishes, which analysts have blamed on weak enforcement among troops on both sides.

Five more people have been killed in the worst reported case of violence on Sunday since the signing of the peace agreement.

Sofyan said Indonesian troops arrested 20 civilians the day after the signing.

"Five of them were later found dead, while the whereabouts of the remaining 15 remain unknown," he said as reported by AFP.

This brings the total number of reported deaths to seven, all civilians.

GAM has been fighting for an independent state since 1976. The ensuing war has claimed over 10,000 lives with more than 1,700 dead this year alone.