============================================ IBRAHIM ISA'S - FOCUS ON - "ACEH PEACE MAP" - ============================================ --- The lesser of two evils? --- 'MPs must back' Aceh peace deal --- Aceh rebels agree to peace deal ================================================ The lesser of two evils? , Jakarta Post, 18 July 2005. The use of words in the ongoing discussions between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian government is exactly that. Everybody knows that trust is non-existent between the Acehnese and Jakarta -- and with good reason. That said, the problem still exists that self-government will not guarantee democracy or an openness that will take on board the wishes of ordinary people. The local Aceh administration from top to bottom has historically looked after itself, and in doing so has neglected their own people. The same can be said of other regions where entire councils are accused of corruption. So in reality, are the local legislators better or worse than those that reside in Jakarta? Better, I suppose, in as much that more wealth will stay in the regions, but that does not mean it will go to the poor. Surely what we see today through the actions of the previous Aceh governor and his administration is that the greed is exactly the same, but of course autonomy brings it in-house and within the grasp of the local elite. Even the tsunami has hugely benefited the rich Acehnese while the poor remain in tents. So are we really looking at the lesser of two evils where neither camp is at all interested in creating a more equal society that puts justice at the top of its agenda? Those that represent GAM should consider whether everything they accuse Jakarta of is not the same or similar to what they would do if they were in the corridors of power. Nobody in Aceh has set an example of good leadership, so why should the people put their faith in any particular group? Is it not a case of everyone, no matter their level, being only interested in what they can get out of the situation for themselves? In other words take what you can and give nothing. As the fingers point to the G-8 countries, take a hard look at what goes on within your own shores and tell me that Indonesia, or the Acehnese for that matter, are any different from those they accuse? DAVID WALLIS, Medan, North Sumatra -----------------------------------------------------------------------
Last Updated: Monday, 18 July, 2005, 07:35 GMT 08:35 'MPs must back' Aceh peace deal Indonesia's vice president has said accommodating a key Aceh rebel demand finalising a peace agreement will require a constitutional amendment. At the end of a meeting in Finland on Sunday, the two sides agreed a draft deal to end the 29-year insurgency. The government and rebels from the Free Aceh Movement (Gam) had agreed to sign the truce at a ceremony on 15 August. But questions remain over the issue of political representation, which has proved a sticking point throughout. During talks earlier in the week Gam abandoned its demand for Acehnese independence in return for a certain amount of autonomy and greater access to the region's rich natural resources, and both sides agreed to establish an Aceh monitoring mission, overseen by experts from European Union and other Asian countries. But the main difficulty has been the rebels' request for participation in local Acehnese politics. It appears the government may have acquiesced to this demand, but is still unclear whether the accord will allow Gam to form its own Aceh-based party - and if so, when. "A local party would need a change in the law, that would need the agreement of the parliament," Mr Kalla told reporters in Jakarta on Sunday. "The government will try as hard as it can to create the political and legal situation in support of that." Under current legislation, every political party in Indonesia must have representation in at least half of the country's 33 provinces, and have its headquarters in Jakarta. Analysts say that any exception to that rule could lead to demands from other separatist groups elsewhere in Indonesia, which some Indonesian officials - especially among the military - fear could spark further attempts at secession from Jakarta. Cautious optimism In Aceh itself - where more than 120,000 people died in the 26 December tsunami - opinions on the peace deal are divided. "I hope that both sides will respect this agreement," said Dian, one of many Acehnese who lost several family members in the tsunami. "All we want here is to live peacefully and free, to go anywhere we want and be able to express our opinions," she told the Associated Press. But others remembered that the last peace deal, brokered in late 2002, fell apart soon afterwards with each side blaming the other for not sticking to the agreement. "All this is only promises, just like the promises from previous negotiations," newspaper agent Joni Sukandar told Reuters news agency on Monday. About 15,000 people have died in the 29-year conflict between the government and Gam rebels. Aceh rebels agree to peace deal Delegates from the Indonesian government and Aceh rebels have agreed a tentative peace deal, the rebels say. The accord, being negotiated in the Finnish capital Helsinki, is aimed at bringing an end to 30 years of conflict in the western Indonesian province. The agreement will need to be approved by the Indonesian government in Jakarta before it can be made official. The peace talks were first initiated in the wake of December's tsunami that killed at least 120,000 people in Aceh. Political party issue About 15,000 people have died in the three decades-old conflict. A previous peace deal broke down in May 2003 amid bitter recriminations. "We have reached a compromise position... We have agreed on the language in the draft agreement and sent it to Jakarta for ratification," Damien Kingsbury, political adviser to the Free Aceh Movement (Gam) told AFP. "If ratified in Jakarta, the deal will be initialled tomorrow," he added. The meeting, brokered by Finnish mediators, had been deadlocked over the issue of political representation. The Gam rebels had earlier rejected a proposal that would allow them to field candidates within existing political parties, demanding instead that it be allowed to form its own political party. But that sticking point appears to have now been solved. The Gam rebels said they had "reached an in principle agreement on the question of the establishment of local political parties in Aceh". Last Updated: Monday, 24 January, 2005, 14:46 GMT E-mail this to a friend Printable version Profile: Aceh's Gam separatists Aceh's freedom fighters have been battling for the province's independence for nearly three decades. The Free Aceh Movement (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, or Gam) was founded on 4 December 1976 by Hasan di Tiro - a descendant of the last sultan of Aceh. The group has grown from an initial membership of just 150 rebels to a military strength now estimated at between 3,000 and 5,000. While Aceh has a higher concentration of Muslims than the rest of Indonesia, Gam is not seeking to establish a fundamentalist Islamic state. Its argument is more about history than religion. Gam maintains that when the Republic of Indonesia was formed in 1949, the Kingdom of Aceh should not have been included in the package, since, unlike the rest of the territory, it was never formally under Dutch colonial rule. The rebels claim the Acehnese people were not consulted about the decision to become part of Indonesia, and are therefore fighting for a return of the province's sovereignty. That struggle has been fuelled by a perception that the Indonesian government is not fairly sharing the province's considerable natural resources with Aceh's citizens. Reported abuses of civilians by the Indonesian military have helped stoke tensions still further. Although its leadership is now largely in exile in Sweden - where some senior Gam officials have been living since the early 1980s - the separatist organisation still enjoys a high level of public support among the Acehnese population. Long-running conflict Since Gam's inception, the rebels have conducted guerrilla-style attacks throughout Aceh, targeting Indonesian security forces. The military has responded by trying to flush out the rebels from their mountain strongholds. In the early 1990s, thousands of troops poured into the province to crack down on the rebels, but they failed to crush the insurgency. Over the years, there have been various attempts by both sides to bring an end to the violence - which has so far claimed an estimated 10,000 lives, many of them civilian. In December 2002 the government and Gam agreed to a peace deal, which was initially heralded as the breakthrough needed to end the deadlock. Under the plan, Jakarta said Aceh could have free elections and a partially autonomous government, which would keep 70% of the revenue generated from the province's oil reserves. In return, the rebels were asked to abandon their claims for complete independence, and hand in weapons. But Gam's main goal is Acehnese independence, which Jakarta is extremely unlikely to grant - a fact that was never fully addressed in the peace deal. Cracks soon appeared in the agreement. The rebels were supposed to gradually give up their weapons, while the Indonesian military were expected to withdraw to defensive positions. Neither side fulfilled their part of the bargain. Negotiations finally broke down in May 2003. The government then immediately launched an all-out military offensive, imposing marital law in the province and sending tens of thousands of troops into Aceh to keep control. The security situation was finally downgraded to a civilian emergency in May 2004, but the military campaign still continued. Even Gam's exiled leadership was affected. For years the Indonesian government had been putting pressure on Sweden to either extradite or prosecute senior Gam leaders in Stockholm, for crimes against the Indonesian state. In June 2004 Malik Mahmood, Zaini Abdullah and Gam founder Hasan di Tiro were arrested by Swedish police on suspicion of "crimes violating international law". All three were soon released, however, after a Stockholm court decided that there was not enough evidence to keep the men in custody. Effects of the tsunami The result of the ongoing conflict in Aceh is that for the last 30 years, the province's citizens have been living in a low-level war zone - largely isolated from the rest of the world. Foreigners - including aid workers and journalists - have not been allowed into the region for some time, and accurate reports of the situation have therefore been hard to obtain. Since the 26 December tsunami, however, all that has changed. International groups have been pouring into Aceh to provide aid to the devastated coastal regions, and both the government and Gam have declared a ceasefire to help aid get through to survivors. It remains to be seen what longer term effects the tsunami disaster will have on the separatist conflict. The government may feel under pressure to open some kind of communication channel with the rebels, and Gam is also likely to feel the need for a conciliatory gesture. Aceh's beleaguered people have suffered one of the worst natural disasters in living memory, and the last thing they need is a renewal of hostilities between Gam and the Jakarta government. *** [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] WM FOR ACEH Bantu korban bencana gempa dan tsunami di Aceh dan Sumatra Utara! Rekening BCA Kantor Cabang Pembantu (KCP) Koperasi Sejati Mulia Pasar Minggu No Rek. 554 001 4207 an. Herni Sri Nurbayanti. Harap konfirmasi sebelumnya ke [EMAIL PROTECTED] atau HP 0817 149 129. Milis Wanita Muslimah Membangun citra wanita muslimah dalam diri, keluarga, maupun masyarakat. 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