RI prepares exit from Aceh peace pact

RI prepares exit from Aceh peace pact

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta

The Indonesian government is preparing an exit strategy from the
five-month-old Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA) it
signed with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels, a move that will
permit a military operation in the restive province.

Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra said
on Tuesday there were sufficient reasons for the government to
pull out of the peace pact, citing its ineffectiveness in dealing
with separatism in Aceh.

"We are preparing a letter to HDC saying that we are pulling
out of the agreement, which we consider has provided the chance
for GAM to promote their independence movement," Yusril said
after a Cabinet meeting.

Yusril was referring to the Henry Dunant Centre (HDC) that
facilitated the peace deal in Geneva last December.

The minister underlined that the government had shown good
will by repeatedly calling for a Joint Council meeting, the
highest monitoring body of the peace pact, but the gesture had
been ignored by GAM.

"GAM lacks good intentions, so we do have enough reasons not
to continue the deal," he remarked.

Article 9 of the peace agreement says that 30 days must pass
after a Joint Council meeting before either side can decide to
quit the deal.

The status of COHA has been hanging in the balance after GAM
refused the April 25 date offered by the government for the Joint
Council meeting. GAM instead asked the meeting to take place on
April 27.

Then the government gave a two-week deadline for GAM to return
to the negotiating table with the understanding that the rebels
must acknowledge the unitary state of Indonesia and disarm
themselves. The deadline passed at midnight on Monday.

Despite the government plan to use military force, HDC
spokesman Steve Daly said his office was still making efforts to
save the peace pact even though the deadline had passed, but
admitted no breakthrough had come out of the diplomatic efforts.

More than 50 international peace monitors grouped under the
Joint Security Committee (JSC) have left Aceh for their
respective countries as war looms.

JSC chief, Maj. Gen. Tanongsuk Tuvinun also bade farewell to
the Indonesian government, but expressed confidence that there
were chances for all parties to save the peace accord.

"We are still very optimistic and we will not stop. I still do
believe that the process is not formally terminated and the JSC
is not officially dissolved," he told a press conference after a
meeting with Coordinating Minister for Political and Security
Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Tanongsuk said he expected the peace process in Aceh to resume
soon with a possible Joint Council meeting in the near future.

He asserted that JSC had not dissolved although it was
practically no longer in operation. He called his and other
foreign monitors' exit from Indonesia a part of a rotation
policy.

"Perhaps it is better because a rotation (of monitors) is
supposed to be done in six months. We've been here for over five
months," said Tanongsuk, who will fly to Bangkok on Wednesday.

He suggested that both Jakarta and GAM take further measures
to make peace talks possible.

"There had been a few mistakes from one party and a few from
the others, and probably some from all of us," Tanongsuk replied
when asked who was to blame for the collapsed truce.

Susilo said the Indonesian government had planned to award
Tanongsuk for his service in maintaining peace in Aceh.