Peace zone, a start of harmony in Aceh

Peace zone, a start of harmony in Aceh

Kornelius Purba, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh, Aceh

Being a war zone for almost three decades, Aceh on Saturday
took a small step, but in some ways it could be a giant leap
toward peace, by declaring a small district near the provincial
capital of Banda Aceh, the first demilitarized zone.

Barring any unforeseen obstacles, Aceh will have seven more
peace zones within two weeks.

The first zone of peace is Indrapuri district in Aceh Besar
regency. It lies 24 kilometers south of Banda Aceh. The district
was chosen due to its close distance to the provincial capital
and because conflict there was so intense at times that it now
requires immediate humanitarian assistance.

The declaration ceremony took place near a traditional market
in Indrapuri and was attended by about 2,000 local people and the
representatives of the Aceh Besar local administration. Also
present was Maj. Gen. Tanongsuk Tuvinun from Thailand, who heads
the Joint Security Committee (JSC), and representatives of the
Henry Dunant Centre (HDC), which brokered the peace deal.

Indrapuri is the first demilitarized area in the province
following the signing of a peace agreement between the Indonesian
government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Geneva on Dec. 9.

Pamphlets containing peace messages were displayed near the
venue. There was also a small poster containing 15 prohibited
acts, including rape and sexual harassment, especially by the
Indonesian Military (TNI) and Police who have been deployed to
Aceh.

"Both parties have come together to create this weapons-free
place and to pave the way for economic development," Tuvinun said
in his speech.

The ceremony only lasted about 30 minutes, with Tuvinun the
only one addressing the crowd. There was no dialog between the
local people and the tripartite JSC, which comprises
representatives of Indonesia, GAM and the HDC, many of whom are
from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member
countries.

Despite the absence of a dialog, local people looked
enthusiastic and were especially happy with the warm attitude of
the Thai general, as many of them approached him just to shake
hands with him.

"Together, we can all help the Acehnese begin to live a normal
life," Tuvinun told the audience.

"I hope peace will last long here. We have suffered too much.
Now we feel safer, and we can go to our paddy fields with less
fear," said a 35-year-old housewife when asked about the
prospects for peace.

Most other local people seemed very suspicious when queried
about peace in their region. Some of them spoke only in Acehnese
(most of the security personnel deployed by Jakarta cannot
understand it) and quickly left if any other Indonesians tried to
approach them.

In a media briefing, the preceded the ceremony, Tuvinun
announced an ambitious plan to extend the peace zone areas to
eight other regencies in Aceh before Feb. 8. He declined to
identify the regencies.

However a government official, who asked not to be identified,
and GAM official T. Kamaruzzaman revealed that Banda Aceh, Aceh
Besar, South Aceh, Bireun, North Aceh, East Aceh, Central Aceh
and Pidie would be demilitarized within two weeks. The eight
peace centers will cover all 19 regencies and mayoralties before
the whole of Aceh is eventually declared as a peace area.

"For the time being, nine places will be a good start.
However, we hope that Aceh will soon be declared a complete zone
of peace," said Kamaruzzaman, a JSC member representing GAM.

According to the Geneva agreement, GAM members and Indonesian
soldiers are prohibited from carrying weapons outside their
respective bases within peace zones. Military outposts must also
be vacated.

Despite the Geneva agreement and stronger international
presence to monitor the truce, the long-standing question about
trials for perpetrators of human rights abuses during the war era
remains unanswered. Human rights activists here have complained
that the Dec. 9 agreement hardly dealt with human rights issues
or the punishment of the perpetrators.

During a public discussion, organized by the Foundation for
Care of Human Rights (YPHAM) here, most speakers, including noted
human rights activist Sidney Jones and the foundation executive
director Saifuddin Bantasyam, raised their doubts about the
government's ability to punish human rights violators during the
conflict in Aceh.

According to them, an everlasting peace in Aceh would remain a
concept on paper, unless people saw that justice was being upheld
and the those who committed crimes against humanity, were
properly punished.

Budi, a police officer participating in the discussion, could
not hide his anger when a student quoted an officer in Aceh as
telling students that for police here the problem was only "to
kill or to be killed."

Acehnese participants during the discussion could only
bitterly smirk when Yuwaldi, a government-appointed member of the
National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), asked Acehnese
people to just pray, because only God could end human rights
violations and punish the perpetrators.

"We can only depend on God," Yuwaldi said, arguing that human
rights issues were just too complicated for human beings.