Next steps for Aceh after the peace pact

Next steps for Aceh after the peace pact

Veena Siddharth, New York

When the Indonesian government and the armed separatists of
the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) signed their peace agreement this
week, they demonstrated that even the darkest cloud may have a
silver lining after all. Last December's devastating tsunami
killed or injured hundreds of thousands of Acehnese, but the
response brought an enormous amount of international goodwill and
assistance for the reconstruction and development of the
province, and restarted previously unsuccessful peace talks.

As a result, the Acehnese could finally get a real chance to
develop and prosper in a safe and peaceful environment. Failure,
however, could plunge an already devastated province into renewed
conflict with little likelihood of overcoming the twin disasters
of deluge and war.

Of course we have been here before. In December 2002, after
thirty years of fighting marked by human rights abuses, thousands
of deaths, and total impunity for those responsible for war
crimes, the Indonesian government and GAM signed a cessation of
hostilities agreement. But after just a few months, the agreement
fell apart and full scale hostilities began anew in the province.

For today's agreement to be sustainable, success rests on two
elements: First, both sides must abide by the agreement in good
faith. Second, there must be focused attention to human rights.
Both elements require an active commitment from both sides and
close, objective, monitoring with strong international
involvement.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has made
securing peace for Aceh a priority, but the Indonesian military's
enthusiasm and support for the peace agreement has been less
clear. The military has major financial interests in the province
that will be curtailed by this agreement, as well as a
longstanding antipathy to its autonomy. The history of
Indonesia's armed forces in East Timor, West Papua, and the
Maluku islands, together with a general lack of reform of the
military, mean that their actions during the next few months must
be scrutinized.

Pointing out the military's poor record in Aceh is not to
ignore GAM's own sad history of abusive behavior. The human
rights abuses perpetrated by both sides to the conflict have
fueled the conflict in Aceh. The promotion and protection of
human rights were conspicuously absent from the 2002 cease-fire
agreement; this time around, such protection will be key to
making this new peace deal work and ending the cycle of violence.

To their credit the Indonesian government is allowing monitors
from the EU and ASEAN member states to monitor the implementation
of the agreement on the ground. However, for their efforts to be
as effective as possible the following areas will be critical:

* Full access to the entire province. Most of Aceh has
remained closed to the international community since May 2003,
when military operations recommenced in earnest. Even after the
tsunami, access was largely limited to the coastal areas
devastated by the earthquake and tsunami.. Monitors should be
allowed full access, subject only to genuine security
restrictions. This access should also extend to humanitarian
workers and members of the domestic and foreign media.

* A strong human rights mandate. The international monitors'
mandate should include public reporting and timely interventions,
private and public, to address human rights and international
humanitarian law violations by all sides. They should collect and
preserve evidence of human rights violations which can be used in
possible subsequent legal proceedings. Human rights experts
should be part of the monitoring mission, with a significant
presence of women and experts with knowledge of abuses related to
sexual violence.

* Highlight vulnerable groups. The international community
should take steps to protect vulnerable groups, particularly
women, children, and those displaced by the conflict. Both sides
have reportedly engage din rape and other violence against women.
Indonesian security forces have arrested or arbitrarily detained
women in Aceh as punishment if their male relatives have fled the
province. Security forces also regularly target young men, as
suspected GAM sympathizers, with beatings, forced disappearances
and arbitrary detention.

* Back civil society. For peace to really take hold in Aceh it
will be essential to strengthen local civil society. Under the
conflict human rights defenders and members of non governmental
organizations have been killed, abducted, and subjected to verbal
and physical intimidation by both sides. Both the Indonesian
Government and GAM should offer explicit guarantees to ensure
protection for human rights monitors, civil society members, and
humanitarian workers.

* Accountability for past and ongoing violations. Impunity for
past and ongoing human rights violations has created an
environment of mistrust between the Acehnese and the Indonesian
government. The new peace deal contains a provision for the
establishment of an ad hoc court in Aceh to hear cases of human
rights violations in the province. While a welcome first step
towards accountability it is critical to maintain this court's
independence and there should be no general amnesty for
perpetrators of human rights crimes. International monitors
should publicly report on violations by both sides, and press
them to take measures to hold perpetrators within their own ranks
accountable.

* Outreach and regular reporting. The people of Aceh will only
have confidence in the peace agreement if they feel part of it.
The Government of Indonesia, GAM and the international monitors
should disseminate information about the peace agreement in both
Acehnese and Indonesian. The mandate of the EU and ASEAN
monitoring missions, their terms of engagement and components
should also be public.

There is much at stake with this new agreement. The people of
Aceh have suffered through years of conflict and the devastating
ferocity of last December's tsunami was an added blow. This may
be Indonesia's last chance to reach a viable long-term solution
to the conflict, and tap into this international support.

Veena Siddharth is the Asia Advocacy director for Human Rights
Watch.