Kalla visits Aceh, monitors peace process
Kalla visits Aceh, monitors peace process
Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh
Vice President Jusuf Kalla visited Aceh on Wednesday to monitor post-tsunami reconstruction and hold talks on the progress in the historic peace process with former separatist rebels in the province.
In his first trip to the province after the signing of the peace deal between the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) leaders in Helsinki in August this year, Kalla held a closed-door meeting with the Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM)'s top two officials, Pieter Feith and his deputy Nipat Thonglek from Thailand.
They did not comment to reporters after the talks, AFP reported. The talks came ahead of the start of a third phase of a weapons decommissioning by GAM on Monday.
About 240 peace monitors from the European Union and five member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are overseeing the peace deal aimed at ending nearly three decades of conflict in the province.
The deal saw GAM drop its long-held demand for independence in exchange for a form of local government. GAM must also gradually hand over its declared 840-weapon arsenal in four stages, which is expected to be concluded by the end of the year. So far, 476 weapons have already been handed over and in return, the military and police have pulled out more than half of the 24,000 reinforcement troops in Aceh.
However, Kalla's short trip on Wednesday disappointed Kampung Jawa residents in Kutaraja district, Banda Aceh since the tsunami survivors did not have the chance to talk with him.
"We had high hopes that we could talk with the Vice President. Even half an hour would be enough," said Yani, a resident, who had been waiting with other residents for Kalla to arrive since the morning.
"We want to ask the government to make a dam to protect the village from seawater," said Khairunisa, another resident.
Kalla, who was accompanied by several ministers, only visited the village for about 10 minutes.
In the one-day visit, Kalla met local leaders, including 14 high-ranking GAM officials, and opened a local congress of the Golkar party he chairs before returning to Jakarta.
He was also briefed by the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency for Aceh and Nias on its work and plans to provide 78,000 homes over the next year.
In Kampung Jawa village, Kalla watched Acehnese traditional houses built by non-governmental organization Muslim Aid for the tsunami victims.
According to the organization's director, Fadlullah Wilmot, the Vice President was impressed with the construction of the houses.
From 170 of the Rumah Aceh traditional houses the organization planned to build for tsunami victims, 80 were completed and occupied.
"The main material is coconut wood so there's no need to fell wood from the forest," said Wilmot, adding that it requires Rp 40 million (US$4,000) to build each house, including providing electricity.
So far, international and local non-governmental organizations have built 5,820 of the planned 200,000 houses for tsunami victims in Aceh.