Indonesia gains int'l support to rebuild Aceh
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
International donors and funding agencies Tuesday expressed support for a peaceful solution to the Aceh conflict and pledged to send a team to assess the needs of post-war reconstruction in the province as soon as Jakarta and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) sign a peace deal.
In a press statement issued after a one-day Aceh conference in Tokyo, the donors also agreed to prepare substantial funds to rebuild the province as quickly as possible.
"Shortly after the signing of the cessation of hostilities agreement, a multi-agency mission will visit Aceh to carry out a preliminary assessment of needs," the statement said.
Jakarta and GAM are expected to sign a landmark peace accord in Geneva, Switzerland on Dec. 9 in a bid to end violence that has claimed more than 10,000, mainly civilian, lives since GAM launched its independence struggle in 1976.
Countries participating in the conference included Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Qatar, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Norway, the Philippines, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand and Britain.
The European Commission (EC), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the World Bank, the UN Development Program (UNDP) and the Henry Dunant Centre also took part.
No particular amount was mentioned in the statement, but donors agreed to finalize the financing arrangements in the coming weeks.
The financial support would cover short-term humanitarian assistance, support for demobilization of combatants, quick impact community-driven investments, improved health and education facilities and long-term infrastructure provision.
Participating parties also appointed the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI) as the coordinator of the donors to ensure that any assistance goes to the people of Aceh as quickly as possible.
Accountability and transparency for the effective usage of the funds was also cited as important points, with participation from civil society and local communities a must.
"Humanitarian aid and other resources needed to be provided quickly to local communities so citizens could reap the "peace dividends," World Bank country director for Indonesia Andrew Speer told reporters, as quoted by AFP.
The participants noted the implementation of special autonomy in the province had provided significant revenue sharing.
They, however, reiterated the peace agreement would not be sustainable without concrete action towards air and democratic elections in Aceh in 2004.
Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said after the meeting that the direct election would be conducted when real peace emerged.
"When we think that the real peace can be brought into Aceh, when we are sure the people enjoy security and when we are ready to go to the local political election then we will go through that process," he was quoted by AFP as saying.
"But we are not going to be electing a governor or a regional leader until we put everything in place."
The meeting was initiated by Japan, the United States, the European Union (EU) and the World Bank.
It was held in the eve of GAM's 26th anniversary that could hamper the signing of the coming peace deal, should GAM and the Indonesian Military (TNI) engage in clashes over the celebration.
GAM decided not to attend the conference because it felt it had been given insufficient time to prepare, Yutaka Iimura, Japan's ambassador to Indonesia, said.