Govt to stick with Aceh peace accord

Govt to stick with Aceh peace accord

JAKARTA: Despite the frequent violations of the peace deal, Indonesia will continue to comply with the cessation of hostilities agreement it signed with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) on Dec. 9, 2002.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said here on Wednesday that the government would entrust the Joint Security Committee (JSC) to handle all violations of the truce.

"Even though there are strong indications that GAM will likely violate the peace process by refusing to surrender their weapons and continue provoking the Acehnese to demand a referendum, we will not immediately decide to unilaterally withdraw from the agreement," he said.

Indonesian Military Chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto revealed on Tuesday that the military has prepared a contingency plan should the two-month peace agreement end in tatters.

JSC recently announced that GAM had committed two serious violations over the last two months. -- JP