Peace effort in Geneva

Peace effort in Geneva

Today, barring any unforeseen developments, a document will be
signed in Geneva that will hopefully end one of the most extended
and, in terms of human lives, most devastating conflicts that has
plagued Indonesia for almost 25 years.

In a display of realism that is rather untypical of Indonesian
regimes so far, the Jakarta administration recently agreed to
sign a memorandum of understanding with the Stockholm-based Free
Aceh Movement (GAM) to provide a "humanitarian pause" to the
fighting that has taken thousands of lives, mostly civilian,
since insurgents hoping for an independent Islamic state of Aceh
first took up arms against the government in Jakarta in 1976.

Given the lesson of East Timor, where, given the option to
choose in a free and democratic referendum, the overwhelming
majority of voters opted to sever the territory's 25-year-long
ties with Jakarta in favor of setting up an independent state,
the fears that exist among quite a number of Indonesians that
history might repeat itself in Aceh can easily be understood.

After all, only a few months have passed since crowds of
exuberant Acehnese, estimated to have numbered more than a
million, converged on the provincial capital of Banda Aceh to
demand a similar referendum to opt between regional autonomy or
full independence. At present, even though Jakarta -- fearful of
starting a torrent of demands for independence similar to that
which ended Indonesian rule over East Timor less than a year ago
-- has ruled out the option of full independence, such fears
remain.

The difficulty is that after more than two decades of trying
by the government in Jakarta, using every means and resource it
can muster, the problem persists. Indeed, the longer a solution
that is acceptable to the majority of people in Aceh is delayed,
the more complicated the situation tends to become and the more
difficult it becomes to achieve a negotiated settlement.

Hence, by recognizing the realities that exist, the Geneva
peace effort is at least a step in the right direction.
Fortunately, even though an agreement does not guarantee that
peace in the troubled province can be restored any time soon,
there are positive signs that the goal of restoring peace in Aceh
might well be attained sooner than many Indonesians might expect.

Certainly, doubts exists as to the effectiveness of coming to
an agreement with GAM. For one thing, many Acehnese themselves
have doubts about who GAM really represent. For another, though
there is no doubt that discontent over Jakarta's policies runs
deep and wide throughout this gas-rich province, the presence of
factions and even criminals trying to cash in on the situation
clouds the issue and complicates efforts to come to a generally
acceptable solution.

Nevertheless, to quote the chief of the Indonesian Military
(TNI), Admiral Widodo Adisutjipto, on the issue, every effort is
worth making. That implies that all the parties involved in the
conflict must be invited to join the efforts to restore peace in
the province, however one might distrust or dislike their
motives.

After all, as we understand it, the Geneva peace effort aims
merely to establish the kind of situation that is conducive to
restoring peace so that development is possible in the province.
What steps must be taken afterward to ensure that local
sentiments are duly represented in further deliberations is
something that must be answered when the time comes.