National commission on Aceh badly needed

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Kornelius Purba, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The House of Representatives (DPR) underlined on Friday the importance of establishing a special national commission in charge of developing an extensive range of measures aimed at solving the prolonged conflict in Aceh.

"We've asked the government to set up a commission on Aceh," House Speaker Akbar Tandjung said after the first consultation meeting between the House and President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Akbar said that due to the complexity of problems in the strife-torn province, the government should find a better approach in dealing with them.

"We think there should be closer cooperation among officials of the ministries and government agencies to handle Aceh," Akbar remarked in a joint media conference with Megawati, the first held by the President since her ascension to the presidency on July 23.

The government, during former president Abdurrahman Wahid's tenure, imposed a presidential instruction on Aceh, No.14/2001, issued in April, which outlined six programs -- regional autonomy, economy, social programs, law and order, the restoration of security and the dissemination of information.

The Aceh conflict lingers as one of the major problems the country is facing. Even though three of Indonesia's leaders, B.J. Habibie, Abdurrahman Wahid and Megawati, had personally visited the province to deal with the issue, none of their efforts seems to have had a positive impact on calming the clamor for independence.

"We fully support the implementation of the presidential instruction, but we think that more action is needed to end the separatist problem," Akbar said.

He further said that he did not give a date for the establishment of the commission. "It is up to the government to follow up on the suggestion," Akbar said.

The President said that the government had some difficulty in implementing the rehabilitation programs in the restive province due to severe security problems.

"The government will continue to step up its efforts to implement the rehabilitation program, as mentioned in the presidential instruction, as soon as possible," Megawati said.

She also said that the government had decided to extend the implementation of the presidential instruction for the next four months, because it was important to maintain peace in the province.