House support Aceh peace pact
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Efforts to end three decades of bloodshed in Aceh received a major boost on Tuesday as the government secured full support from the House of Representatives for its peace agreement with the rebels in the province.
"The House leadership, including all 10 factions ... support efforts by the government to solve conflicts in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam in a peaceful, comprehensive and dignified manner," House Speaker Agung Laksono told a joint media conference which wrapped up a marathon consultation meeting at the president's office.
Agung brought with him representatives of all the factions, including previous opponents of the deal, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, to the talks which had been requested by the lawmakers to hear details of the peace deal, which is scheduled for signing in Helsinki on Aug. 15.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was accompanied by Vice President Jusuf Kalla and several Cabinet ministers and Indonesian Military Commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto.
To show their relief, the government officials and lawmakers concluded their meeting with patriotic songs "Syukur" (Appreciation) and "Padamu Negeri" (For You My Country).
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels would cease to exist as a consequence of its approval of the peace deal, which requires its members to acknowledge the unitary state of Indonesia and the 1945 Constitution.
The signing, Susilo said, would ease the way for the massive reconstruction effort currently underway in Aceh, most of which was greatly damaged by the tsunami. Nearly 130,000 people were killed in that disaster, which also affected Nias Island in North Sumatra.
Minister of Justice and Human Rights Hamid Awaluddin has been appointed to sign the agreement on behalf of the government. Four lawmakers will also witness the signing, but Kalla, who initiated the peace talks, will not be there.
Both Susilo and Agung refused to disclose the details of the truce in order to honor the commitment to keep them secret until the signing. But Agung said the agreement would cover "amnesty, political rights, facilities, integration, economic affairs and monitoring of the peace implementation".
The government had earlier proposed an amendment to the special autonomy status for Aceh to allow GAM members to form their own political party and contest local elections as part of the peace deal.
The President also played down lawmakers' warning of a possible "hidden agenda" behind the truce, which they said could lead to Aceh's partition.
"There should not be concern in connection to what happened to East Timor in the past ... No outside party is taking part in the settlement of the Aceh and Papua issues," Susilo explained.
Susilo also gave credit to past governments that contributed to the peace process.
The first peace agreement was reached during the administration of former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid in 2000, and the second during the tenure of Megawati Soekarnoputri in 2002. Both peace deals, however, were short-lived.
Meanwhile, GAM leaders briefed around 300 Acehnese clerics, scholars, artists, activists, businessmen and politicians about the peace agreement in Kuala Lumpur during a forum facilitated by the Sweden-based Olof Palme Center.
"We explained to them that our wali (head of the movement Hassan di Tiro) has approved all the results of the peace talks," a member of GAM negotiating team Mohammed Nur Djuli told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.