UN, U.S. hope for peace in Aceh after tsunami
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The United Nations and the United States have expressed hopes that the disaster that has devastated Aceh could put an end to the prolonged armed conflict in the province.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said after meeting U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell at UN Headquarters in New York on Saturday that the two warring sides could start working together to help those in need following the tsunami that killed tens of thousands of people in Aceh.
"We hope that this (disaster) offers an opportunity both in Aceh and in Sri Lanka, and that the protagonists are now working together to bring support to those in need. And I hope that collaboration is not going to end with the crisis and that they will be able to build on that and use these new dynamics to resolve their own differences; and we will be encouraging that," Annan told a post-meeting media conference.
Powell agreed, saying: "Let's see this as an opportunity to resolve these two long-running crises."
Indonesia and Sri Lanka, both bearing the brunt of the tsunami that has taken at least 126,000 lives across Asia, have for years seen armed conflict between government troops and separatist groups. Thousands have been killed in the fighting.
Annan and Powell met to discuss coordination of world-wide relief for countries hit by last Sunday's tsunami.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had earlier called on the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to lay down their arms and help rebuild the ravaged province as part of the unitary state of Indonesia.
"On behalf of the government, I call on those who take up arms to leave their groups. Let's take the tragedy as a historic moment to unite and rebuild Aceh together," Susilo said after a Cabinet meeting on Thursday.
The government, however, has never officially lifted the state of civil emergency in Aceh, which was extended for another six months in November. Under the civil emergency status the military operation to crush the rebels, who have been fighting for independence since 1976, has continued unabated.
The death toll in the disaster has climbed to 80,000, but the UN estimates the number will reach 100,000.
In an interview with Reuters, GAM prime minister-in-exile Malik Mahmud said the tsunami might eventually help peace prospects in Aceh.
"While we talk about the natural disaster in Aceh, human tragedies, things like that, we should also talk about the political aspects of Aceh and the problem that we have with the Indonesian government ... this is an opportunity," he said on Friday.
Mahmud, who lives in exile in Sweden, said although GAM was still waiting for a reply from Jakarta to its Dec. 27 offer of a unilateral cease fire, he remained hopeful that peace had a chance.
"We will survive, and especially with the help of the international community ... whatever aid or attention we get from the international community will help Aceh to survive," he said.