Latest round of Aceh peace talks concludes in Finland on optimistic note

Peace agreement between Free Aceh Movement and Indonesia possible in August

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The fourth round of talks on the future of the Indonesian province of Aceh on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra concluded on Tuesday in Vantaa, Finland, in what was described as a very positive atmosphere. The sides of the nearly 30-year-old armed conflict, along with the mediator, former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, said that the process would continue as of July 12th, when the sides will consider a draft peace agreement.
      The Crisis Management Initiative (CMI) led by Ahtisaari will now start drawing up draft documents as a basis for a possible permanent peace treaty.
      Representatives of the Indonesian government said that initial agreement has been reached with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) on all of the most difficult problem areas. "We have no great obstacles left", said Minister of Justice Hamid Awaluddin.
      Similar sentiments were expressed by GAM information officer Bakhtiar Abdullah, who said that both sides had made "significant compromises and concessions".
      "I am very optimistic and we are committed to these negotiations", he said.
      Ahtisaari said that he is psychologically prepared for the signing of a peace treaty in August. Indonesia’s Vice President Jusuf Kalla told the Associated Press that he expects a peace treaty in August.
     
The two sides have provisionally agreed to the notion that the European Union should have a role in monitoring the peace treaty. Representatives of the EU joined the talks on Monday.
      However, the two sides have disagreed on the number of outside observers.
      Ahtisaari says that the EU has not yet made any promises about taking part in the monitoring of a possible peace agreement. "We do not even know yet what they would monitor and how", Ahtisaari noted.
      It is also possible that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations might send observers.
     
Ahtisaari’s CMI has mediated in the Aceh peace process since January. Before that, talks between the two sides were at a standstill, but the tsunami, which devastated the province in late December, helped reawaken desires for peace.
      The three decades of war claimed the lives of at least 12,000 people in Aceh, while the tsunami killed as many as 240,000 residents in the area.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  EU takes part in Aceh peace negotiations (31.5.2005)
  Corruption and fighting overshadow Aceh peace talks (27.5.2005)
  "Breakthrough" reported in Aceh talks as discussions move on to "very important issues" (18.4.2004)
  Aceh representatives put forward model for self-government (15.4.2005)
  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)

Helsingin Sanomat