Pressure heightens for GAM to sign peace deal

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Pressure has now heightened for the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to sign a peace deal with Jakarta as Japan, the U.S., the World Bank and the European Union organize on Tuesday a donors' meeting to rebuild the restive province of Aceh.

The meeting, the first of its kind, comes just one day before GAM celebrates its 26th anniversary, and six days before the government and GAM sign a landmark peace agreement on Dec. 9 in Geneva, Switzerland.

A total of 23 countries and international organizations are expected to attend the one-day conference, including representatives from countries in the Asia Pacific region -- Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and the U.S.

Among other countries scheduled to send officials to the meeting are Canada, France, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and Britain.

The Indonesian delegation to the conference is led by Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who arrived in Tokyo on Monday.

For the Indonesian government, the meeting serves as the most concrete sign of acknowledgement that Aceh is an integral part of Indonesia, while for GAM, the conference adds more pressure for the secessionist movement to sign a peace agreement with the government or risk losing international sympathy.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said on Monday that the Indonesian delegation to the meeting would provide an overview of how reconstruction work could be carried out in the restive province.

"Indonesia is expected to provide an overview on how we should carry out reconstruction in Aceh, when peace is there," Hassan said.

"We hope that the Tokyo meeting can produce peace in the strife-torn province and strengthen the upcoming agreement with GAM," the minister added.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi voiced support for the reconstruction of Aceh on the eve of the meeting, after receiving Susilo at his office on Monday.

"We are ready to actively support the reconstruction of Aceh in the social and economic field after peace is achieved there," Kawaguchi told the Indonesian minister, as quoted by AFP.

"We plan to issue a chairman's statement to clarify our intention to back the rehabilitation of Aceh, but it is unlikely to mention concrete assistance at this very first conference," a foreign ministry spokesman said.

A similar meeting was once held in Tokyo for East Timor after it declared independence, in May 2001. Afghanistan also received similar financial support after the U.S. toppled the Taliban regime late last year.

Hassan also expressed optimism on Monday that the government and GAM would soon sign a peace agreement to put an end to the hostility that started when the secessionist movement embarked on an independence struggle for the resource-rich province.

The government had hoped to sign a peace deal with GAM before the holy month of Ramadhan started on Nov. 6, but GAM unilaterally delayed it until the post-fasting Idul Fitri celebrations, which are expected to fall on Dec. 6 and Dec. 7.

Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, however, said that both parties had yet to agree on the disarmament period for GAM.

"They asked for a six-month period, and we want it to happen as soon as the agreement is signed because as long as civilians hold guns there could be clashes with the TNI," he said.

GAM has been striving for independence since 1976, and the struggle has claimed the lives of more than 10,000 civilians and military personnel.