Monitoring team called to ensure cease-fire in Aceh

Monitoring team called to ensure cease-fire in Aceh

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta/Banda Aceh

An independent committee is necessary to prevent the forthcoming
agreement for the cessation of hostilities between Jakarta and
the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) from turning into a failure.

Learning from previous experience, when both sides failed to
maintain a truce agreed in several peace talks since 1999, the
independent commission would serve as an institution that oversaw
how the cease-fire was upheld.

"What we need are individuals, respected by both sides, to
check whether both sides have stopped their hostile acts," Rizal
Sukma of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies
(CSIS) told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

He suggested that the monitoring committee be given the
authority to investigate any violence that erupted after the
agreement.

"The members should have a credible international reputation,
regardless of whether they are Indonesian nationals or
foreigners," Rizal added.

After months of uncertainty, the government and GAM sent out a
strong signal to engage in another round of dialog, prompting new
hopes for peace in restive Aceh.

TNI and GAM expressed their support for the cessation of
hostilities and hoped to find a measure to deal with GAM splinter
groups, said to be behind a series of criminal acts in the
province.

Rizal said the monitoring committee could serve as a neutral
institution, which decided who was responsible for violence, and
all sides should accept its investigation reports.

The government reviewed its dialog policy in July and demanded
GAM accept the special autonomy law before it engaged in any more
peace talks.

GAM underlined its readiness to return to the negotiating
table because it understood people's needs for safety and peace,
and had nothing to do with the special autonomy law.

Clarifying his Wednesday statement, GAM spokesman Teuku
Kamaruzaman said his organization was ready to give its views on
the special autonomy law, while revising the law was not in the
authority of GAM.

Dialog facilitator Henry Dunant Center (HDC) confirmed that
the dialog would likely commence at the end of October, as
several technical details needed to be further discussed.

An official from the center told the Post that they had been
planning the dialog and aiming to achieve agreement on the
cessation of hostilities.

Such cease-fire efforts were tried in early 2000 under the
aegis of a humanitarian pause. However, the mechanism failed as
the government accused GAM of violating the deal and using the
time to consolidate its troops across the province.

In Banda Aceh, Kamaruzzaman said that his side was considering
an effective mechanism for the cessation of hostilities to ensure
civilian safety.

"We are trying to formulate a mechanism to ensure the
effectiveness of a cease-fire to end the conflict and guarantee
the safety of the people in their day-to-day lives," Kamaruzzaman
said.

He refused to go into details, saying that they would be the
substance of the upcoming talks, but underlined that there should
be sanctions for those who violated the agreement.

"But the sanctions should not come from Indonesian law,
because GAM acknowledges a different set of regulations," he
remarked.

Another GAM leader, Teuku Agam, also supported the idea of
establishing a strong monitoring committee to ensure both sides
complied with the agreement.

He suggested that both GAM and TNI soldiers be confined to
barracks during the cease-fire and refrain from carrying out any
military operation, including espionage.