Govt warns of long, rough road to peace in Aceh
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Banda Aceh
The government on Wednesday laid out an action plan to implement Monday's historic peace agreement that it signed with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) with a warning that it might take years before an enduring peace returned to troubled Aceh.
Coordinating Minister for Security and Political Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said fresh hostility and violations of the peace accord were almost certain to occur in the first months after the signing, but none of that should stop the peace process, he said.
"The agreement was a choice and not just an attempt, so bear in mind the meaning of having made that choice," Susilo told a press briefing after arriving from Geneva late Wednesday.
"The engine of peace must not be stopped," he said, as he called on all parties to ensure the peace accord worked.
He said the government, in cooperation with GAM leaders and the international observers, would try to handle any possible incidents, including skirmishes and friction, to try to build mutual trust since the long-awaited peace would depend on both sides' reciprocal gestures to allow the peace to reign in the region.
Tengku Zainuri, field commander of GAM's military wing in Pasee District, appreciated the military's good gesture to stop its military operations after the peace accord signing.
He said the recent release of 50 rebels detained by the military showed the government's commitment to ending the hostility and creating peace in Aceh.
"We are waiting for the military's further steps to withdraw from the province in the next seven months," he said.
He conceded that GAM Commander Muzakir Manaf had ordered all rebels to cease and desist and recalled them to base.
The agreement was signed by Jakarta chief negotiator Wiryono Sastrohandoyo and GAM negotiator Zaini Abdullah at the Swiss headquarters of the Henry Dunant Centre in Geneva on Monday.
It marked the end of some two and a half years of negotiation initiated by former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid after several years of military repression by his predecessors.
GAM had been fighting for the independence of the oil and gas rich province since 1976. As Jakarta's military clashed almost daily with GAM thousands died, mostly civilians. More than 1,700 have been reported killed this year alone.
International observers have accused all sides with human rights violations. And there is concern the deep animosity will make it difficult for the peace agreement to last.
Hailed by many observers, the accord drew a number of skeptical comments to which Susilo admitted they were well- founded.
"Implementing the deal will be tough," he said.
The Joint Security Commission (JSC) will play the crucial part of supervising the implementation of the peace accord.
To be established within the next months, the JSC further acts as a settlement body for conflicts and violations with the authority to sanction violators.
Also scheduled for the first six months is the transfer of aid to the victims of the conflict. This would include helping the return of thousands of refugees, and rebuilding schools, community health centers and houses of worship that have been destroyed during more than two decades of fighting, said Susilo. All this marks the second step of the agenda.
There is however no timetable on the third and fourth step of the agenda. Susilo said that peace must be assured first before moving on to other efforts.
The third step calls for the Acehnese to elect a new local government and legislative council. This would be after the All- Inclusive dialog by a cross section of Acehnese figures to map out Aceh's future. The dialog, which will involve former members of GAM and many others, was slated for earlier this year but was suspended due to ongoing violence at that time.
Susilo said the dialog conclude that there needs to be amendments to the special autonomy Law No 18/2001 which guarantees that 70 percent of Aceh's' oil and gas revenue stays in the province.
The fourth step deals with rebuilding Aceh's wrecked infrastructure such as roads and bridges to rekindle economic activities in the province.
Twenty-three donor countries have agreed to set up a post-war trust fund for rebuilding Aceh. No amount has been pledged as yet but the funds would come in addition to the Rp 6 trillion the government has set aside for the province under its special autonomy status.
The four-step agenda to implement the Aceh peace accord
1. Peace-keeping and confidence-building measures: two-month period, followed by a five-month period for GAM to disarm and for TNI and the police send most of the troops back to their home bases.
2. Humanitarian aid and rehabilitation of social infrastructure: bringing home refugees, rebuilding schools, mosques and other social facilities. Revitalizing farming and fishing activities.
3. Holding an All-Inclusive dialog and elect a new government in which GAM will be allowed as a political entity/party
4. Economic reconstruction of the province by rebuilding the province's infrastructures.