HDC to continue work in Aceh despite recent attack
HDC to continue work in Aceh despite recent attack
Nani Farida and Ibnu Matnoor, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh, Aceh
A mob attacked the tripartite monitoring team office in Central Aceh on Monday, but the peace observers pledged to continue their mission in the war-torn province.
Spokesman for the Henry Dunant Centre (HDC) peace broker in Aceh David Gorman said on Tuesday that the Joint Security Committee (JSC) would not pull its personnel out of Aceh despite the attack.
"We will not leave Central Aceh. We will continue our mission here," he said, adding the HDC regretted the incident.
The team has temporary been moved from the Central Aceh town of Takengon to Banda Aceh following the attack. David said the team would resume activities in Takengon pending the investigation of the incident and the renovation of the office.
It was the first attack on peace observers in Aceh following the signing of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement in Geneva last December, which has cut the death rate in the almost three- decade long conflict between Indonesian troops and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) soldiers. More than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, are believed to have been killed during the violence.
The HDC formed the JSC to monitor the truce.
Fifty international monitors, most of them from Thailand and the Philippines, have been working for the team, along with 50 representatives each from Indonesia and GAM.
Two monitors, identified as Husni Jalil of GAM and Maj. Eko Yatma of the government, were slightly injured during the mob attack, in which two cars belonging to JSC were torched and another damaged. Several JSC members were taken hostage for six hours.
"We (HDC, GAM and the government) have agreed to solve the problem in Central Aceh," David added.
Reports said the incident started after local farmers accused the JSC of being unfair by ignoring their complaints over alleged extortion by GAM members.
David denied the reports, saying the JSC had done its best to solve problems that might break the truce.
"We need to examine this case," he said.
Separately, GAM accused the Indonesian Military (TNI) of condoning a militia attack in a bid to destroy chances for peace.
"The peace agreement has once again been sullied by the actions of thousands of Javanese militia members who had been mobilized by certain parties who do not want peace in Aceh," GAM spokesman Sofyan Dawod said in a statement.
He said the attack "appeared to be well organized and the Indonesian security authorities did not take any action whatsoever."
Considering that the incident began at 9:00 am and lasted until 4 p.m., Sofyan said that "it is impossible that the intelligence of the Republic of Indonesia had no advance knowledge of this."
Military spokesman Col. Firdaus Komarno denied any military involvement in the attack.
"The rebels can accuse all they want. We had nothing to do with it. It was a spontaneous and genuine reaction to extortion by the rebels," he said.
The peace deal in Aceh has resulted in a sharp drop in violence. But several key issues, including GAM's disarmament and the TNI's withdrawal to barracks, have yet to be resolved.