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President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono asserted Tuesday his
intention to make the hard-won peace in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam a
permanent one.
"What we want is not just any peace, but a permanent peace that forever
puts to an end the conflict. We must consolidate this peace and bring
it to a point of no return," he said during a seminar in Jakarta to
commemorate the one-year anniversary of the signing of the peace deal
between the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).
Signed last Aug. 15 in Helsinki, Finland, the accord ended nearly 30
years of armed conflict during which around 15,000 people died.
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a statement read at the
seminar, said, "It would be tragic if, after coming so far, any party
in Aceh resorted to violence or coercion."
Talks leading to the peace accord started shortly after a earthquake
and tsunami devastated the province in late 2004. Under the accord, GAM
dropped its demand for independence in return for greater autonomy and
the right to form local political parties, which are banned elsewhere
in the country.
"To be successful, that permanent peace will have to be built on human
security, political reconciliation, economic reconstruction and social
unity," Yudhoyono said at the event, which was hosted by the Indonesian
Council on World Affairs.
The President urged the political leadership in Aceh to work together
under the new political format in the province.
While hailing the peace process, former GAM prime minister Malik
Mahmood stressed the need for trust and confidence between GAM and the
government. He added that the one-year peace must be safeguarded and
monitored to prevent any elements from "spoiling" the process.
"We hope the government will also be committed to seeking resolution on
some disagreements" regarding the law on Aceh governance passed July
15, he said. That law paves the way for local elections scheduled for
December.
GAM officials have generally welcomed the new law, but have said some
of its provisions must be amended because they are not in line with the
Helsinki accord.
Former Finland president Martti Ahtisaari, who facilitated the peace
deal through his Crisis Management Initiative, and Aceh Monitoring
Mission head Pieter Feith also hailed the peace efforts.
In the period before the scheduled elections in December, Feith
expressed hope "that GAM will make the transition to a political entity
in order to fully participate in the new political process in Aceh and
consign to history armed conflict".
In Aceh, thousands of people have been arriving in the provincial
capital Banda Aceh since Sunday to celebrate the first anniversary of
the accord. In addition to mass prayers, organizers say a petition is
also planned to demand that the government revise the law on Aceh
governance.
The petition is being backed by several groups from the province,
including the League of Aceh Mothers.
Among those gathered in the capital Tuesday were some 3,000 members of
the group Mass Peaceful Action for a Peaceful Aceh from Bireuen regency,
"We arrived in Banda Aceh on Sunday and will stay here for three days,"
said group member Fadhil.
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