The world applauds the accord to end war in Aceh
Jakarta (AsiaNews) Congratulations and support are pouring in from around the world for the Indonesian government and separatist rebels who signed a peace deal on the night of 15 August, putting an end to nearly 30 years of war in the province of Aceh (north Sumatra) which claimed 15,000 lives.
Kofi Annan, UN secretary-general, the United States, Japan and the European Union all praised the courage of the parties in signing a new agreement after two failed attempts in 2000 and 2002. The accord will facilitate the distribution of more than five billion US dollars collected by the international community for Aceh, badly hit by the Tsunami in December with a death toll of 170,000 victims, counting the dead and missing.
Indonesian president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono hailed the accord, signed in Helsinki with Finnish mediation, as a "gift" for the entire Indonesian society, which marks the 60th anniversary of independence today, 17 August.
He thanked Malik Mahmud, representative of GAM (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, the movement for independence of a free Aceh) for having "made the peace truce possible", choosing diplomatic means to discuss and resolve problems linked to Aceh.
The accord was joyfully hailed by the majority of Indonesians and the people of Aceh, even if there are discordant voices. The salient points of the agreement are:
1) Jakarta will withdraw all its police and army forces from the province by December 2005;
2) GAM will renounce its struggle for complete independence of the province and will undertake to hand in its weapons to be destroyed;
3) Indonesia will facilitate the birth of new local parities to which former members of GAM will sign up;
4) An amnesty will be conceded to all political prisoners and GAM members;
5) A tribunal for human rights and a truth and reconciliation commission will be launched for Aceh;
6) A group of external observers will monitor the truce, made up of ASEAN (Association of South-east Asian States) and EU representatives.
From a political point of view, the province of Aceh will have its own laws, a flag and an anthem, which will not however be considered as an equivalent to the national anthem. Jakarta has already granted Aceh permission to be the only region to apply Sharia law, as the province with the largest Muslim majority.
From an economic perspective, Aceh will have the right to seek foreign investments and loans as long as it sticks to the requirements of Indonesia's central bank. It will also have the power to arrange its own tax policies. Aceh will be able to manage its own natural resources and be entitled to 70 per cent of revenues from its oil and gas reserves. The province now gets 55 per cent of oil revenues and 40 per cent of gas revenues and this will continue until 2009, when the amount will be increased.
Some observers say the agreement is "fragile": Susilo must be able to show that he can effectively control the army and militias backed by the Indonesian army, who wish to appropriate for themselves the area's rich resources; even GAM must demonstrate that it can control more than 3,000 separatist fighters. But the support of the Indonesian people and the people of Aceh, coupled with international backing, bode well.
Disarmament will start on 15 September in the presence of some 200 representatives and soldiers of the EU and ASEAN.
Finnish mediator Matti Ahtisaari, the man behind the drafting of the agreement, described the pact as the "start of a new era for Aceh" and a new possibility for the population to "live in a peaceful, just and democratic society".
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