Thousands in Aceh celebrate as peace treaty is signed in Helsinki

As the peace treaty for Indonesia’s embattled Aceh province was being signed in Helsinki on Monday, thousands of people in Aceh burst out in joyous celebrations. In the capital Banda Aceh a crowd of people watched a live telecast of the signing ceremony on a television screen set up in the yard of a mosque.
      "We now have a new Aceh, a new life", said an excited Jafaruddin Ismail. "Thank you, Finland", someone shouted in the crowd.
     
Monday was a day of hope in Aceh - an unfamiliar emotion in a province torn by three decades of fighting, and by the devastation of last December’s tsunami.
      The peace treaty brings a formal end to the fighting. The Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) promise to end hostilities. Under the agreement, GAM fighters are to give up their weapons, and the number of Indonesian government forces is to be reduced sharply.
      Instead of full independence, Aceh will get extensive autonomy, and a share of the province’s oil and gas revenues.
     
This is not the first attempt to stop the violence in Aceh. However, former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, who served as mediator in the talks, feels that this time there is more reason to hope than on the previous occasions.
      "This achievement has been possible only because both sides have committed themselves to a peaceful, comprehensive, and sustained solution to the conflict", Ahtisaari said. He emphasised the role of the new Indonesian government in the peace process. The government came into office when Susilo Bambang Yodhoyono defeated incumbent Megawati Sukarnoputri in the country’s presidential elections.
      Observers of the European Union and the Association of South-East Asian Nations will begin monitoring compliance with the peace treaty in mid-September.
     
The destruction caused by the tsunami on December 26th added to the pressure to reach an agreement. However, Ahtisaari pointed out that he was first approached over the issue already before the disaster.
      GAM head negotiator Malik Mahmud was also optimistic about the future. However, he expressed concern about the paramilitary forces operating in Aceh, which he says are armed by the Indonesian military.
      "Members of the paramilitaries have recently said that they will start killing members of GAM once they are disarmed. If GAM defends itself against these forces, it would give the Indonesian army an excuse to resume military action against GAM. This would bring the peace process to an end", Mahmud said.
      Minister of Justice Hamid Alawud, who signed the peace treaty on behalf of the Indonesian government, promised that the Indonesian government forces would disarm the paramilitaries. Ahtisaari pointed out that under the peace treaty, local police would have responsibility for maintaining law and order; the role of the army will be to fight against external threats.
     
Praise was heaped on former President Ahtisaari and his Crisis Management Initiative group.
      Ahtisaari, who was a key figure in peace talks in Namibia and the Balkans, took a calm approach to the attention.
      The Aceh peace talks began in January in Vantaa, north of Helsinki. After several rounds of talks, agreement was reached on a peace treaty in mid-July. Ahtisaari sees as a turning point in the process the day that he was given the task of drawing up a draft peace treaty.
     
Ahtisaari’s role in the peace process does not end with the signing of the treaty. If conflicts emerge between the two sides, Ahtisaari could be called on to help mediate.
      However, Ahtisaari faces a new challenge already next week, when he travels to Eritrea as the special representative of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to examine the humanitarian situation there.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finnish observers to be first into Aceh to monitor peace (15.8.2005)
  Latest round of Aceh peace talks concludes in Finland on optimistic note (1.6.2005)
  Corruption and fighting overshadow Aceh peace talks (27.5.2005)
  Aceh representatives put forward model for self-government (15.4.2005)
  Aceh negotiators meet without mediators (14.4.2005)
  Progress in Aceh talks - negotiations to continue in April (24.2.2005)
  Former President Ahtisaari invites Aceh negotiators back to Finland (31.1.2005)
  Preliminary Indonesian peace talks to begin in Helsinki (24.1.2005)

Links:
  Crisis Management Initiative