Indonesia gains int'l support to rebuild Aceh

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.