The Hindu : International : Aceh peace still faces hurdles

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Aug 16, 2005

International

International

Aceh peace still faces hurdles

Government policies will be needed to prevent sabotage of the peace deal

JAKARTA: Although optimism abounds right after the Indonesian Government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) signed their third peace agreement on Monday in Helsinki, Finland, political, economic and social problems still loom large in the archipelago's resource-rich Aceh province.

There are strong reasons for believing that the Helsinki peace deal will eventually work. First and foremost, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice-President Jusuf Kalla have a strong mandate from the people to implement the peace deal, as they were directly elected by the people.

Meanwhile, unlike earlier agreements, the Helsinki peace deal has received strong backing from various quarters, including the National Police, the Indonesian Military (TNI), and top political parties. The Acehnese people are also tired of three decades of war that has claimed thousands of lives. This can contribute to the success of the deal.

Under pressure

In addition, the Government and the GAM have come under strong international pressure to create a conducive climate for the reconstruction and rebuilding of Aceh, much of which will be financed from abroad. The above factors provide a good momentum for lasting peace in Aceh.

It is now up to the Government and the GAM to show that they are really committed to peace. With the foundations for a lasting peace having been laid, both the GAM and the Government have a lot of work to do. Both parties must address the technicalities surrounding the demand by the GAM that it be allowed to establish a local political party. Because Indonesian law does not permit local political parties, the existing legislation will have to be amended.

Besides laying the groundwork for the establishment of a local party, the Government also needs to prepare a plan for the granting of amnesties to convicted GAM members. There is already a plan to provide GAM members with houses and land, but how this will be implemented remains to be seen. The scheme will cost the Central Government dearly.

Inevitably, the provision of houses and plots of land for GAM members is likely to spark social envy as many Acehnese are still suffering from hardship in the aftermath of the tsunami disaster. This issue also needs to be seriously addressed by the Government. In order to handle the looming social problems in Aceh, a massive public information campaign will be needed to convince the Acehnese to accept the amnesty programme.

The Government must make people aware that compensation for GAM members is the price that must be paid in order to ensure lasting peace in Aceh. Like it or not, the Government must take measures, including providing financial incentives, to ``compensate'' the TNI for losing ``a lucrative battleground''. There are allegations that war-related ``business'' activities have been rampant during the military operation in the province.

Meanwhile, effective Government policies will be needed to prevent irresponsible parties from sabotaging the peace deal. Some quarters have taken advantage of the prolonged conflict in Aceh by making money from arms and drug trades, and they will do whatever they can do to perpetuate the conflict in the province for their own gain.

Additionally, the huge amount of money earmarked for Aceh's reconstruction has also created problems as many parties want to get their hands on at least part of the ``tsunami cake''. The international community will not tolerate any misuse of the donations destined for the tsunami victims.

A good beginning: Yudhoyono

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono here on Monday expressed his happiness on the signing of the peace pact and called for rebuilding Aceh.

``On the behalf of the Indonesian government and the Indonesian people, I have to thank to the great achievement,'' Mr. Yudhoyono said during a video conference with Helsinki at his presidential office. He said that the reaching of the agreement was a good beginning to build Aceh province, which has experienced three-decade-long armed conflict that claimed over 15,000 lives.

``It is a good beginning, it is a new beginning, because what we would like to do is to see the MoU to be well implemented in the field. And we will do our best in succeeding this Memorandum of Understanding,'' he said.

The President also expressed his gratitude to the Government of Finland for its support in the achievement. — Xinhua

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