House passes bill granting special autonomy for Aceh

House passes bill granting special autonomy for Aceh

JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representatives (DPR) enacted on
Thursday a law providing special autonomy for Naggroe Aceh
Darussalam, with 70 percent of oil and gas revenue going to the
province and 30 percent to the central government.

The bill had requested that 85 percent of the oil and gas
revenue went to the province.

The law also regulates that the province of Naggroe Aceh
Darussalam -- the new name officiated by the law -- will receive
80 percent of the total revenue from agriculture and fisheries as
provided for in the bill.

Profit sharing will be effective within eight years, instead
of the 10 years proposed in the draft law. After eight years,
profit sharing will be 50/50, the law stipulates.

In their plenary session on Thursday, all 10 factions at the
House also agreed to the implementation of syariah (Islamic law)
for Muslims in the province as was proposed in the bill.

Several Acehnese figures in traditional costume and dozens of
people from the province also attended the plenary session.

"We hope that the law will have a positive impact on the
people of Aceh, and help them to improve their economic situation
and level of security, and finally enhance their life," the
chairman of the special law committee at the House, Ferry
Mursyidan Baldan, said.

The law also stipulates that the appointment of police chief
and provincial prosecutor should be approved by the governor.

"The law is expected to be gradually implemented over the year
from the date it was passed," Ferry said.

In the provincial capital of Banda Aceh, Antara reported that
the national red-and-white flag was seen flying in all corners of
the city soon after the autonomy bill was enacted into law.

The national flag has rarely been hoisted in the restive
province over the last two years.

Reaction

However, the Acehnese had a mixed reaction to the deliberation
of the law.

Chairman of Commission A of the Aceh provincial legislative
council Mustafa Abdullah Gelanggang said the law was a starting
point for accelerating the Aceh peace talks. "The central
government should issue a directive and a provincial decree
should also be issued, or else the law will be rejected by the
Acehnese."

Meanwhile, the chairman of the provincial chapter of the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), Teuku
Bahrum Manyak, said his party welcomed the law. "This is the
first step toward solving all of Aceh's problems. PDI Perjuangan
will study it later and ask for a possible review for the sake of
the Acehnese.

"We hope that this (the law) is not a (political) game."

Nazamuddin Muhammad, the deputy chairman of the master program
on economic development at Syah Kuala state university, said that
the substance of the autonomy law for Aceh was self-government
and revenue sharing. "We must be extra careful in these matters."

Spokesman for the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) Sofyan Ibrahim Tiba
told The Jakarta Post that GAM had yet to accept the law "as it
was not the Acehnese who deliberated it".

"The Acehnese at the House and the provincial legislature can
not claim to represent all of the Acehnese as most of us skipped
the (Indonesian) 1999 general election.

"GAM will accept the law after all Acehnese have an
opportunity to express their stance (toward the law) through a
free and democratic referendum, monitored by international
organizations."

He said that GAM was still skeptical about the law. "The
central government could withdraw it and annul it whenever it
wants." (dja/50/sur)