The Jakarta Post, January 10, 2003
Victims down, but violence continues in Aceh
Ibnu Mat Noor and Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh/Lhokseumawe
Civilian casualties have dropped significantly in Aceh in the past month, but violence
has not stopped entirely in the country's westernmost province.
One month after the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) signed a peace
agreement to end all hostilities, a total of 14 people, including 11 civilians, were killed
in the resource-rich province, a sharp decline from an average of 87 casualties per
month prior to the peace deal.
"The decreasing fatality rate is the main indicator of the strong commitment from both
sides (the government and GAM) to implementing the Dec. 9 peace agreement,"
Fahmi Yunus, manager of the information unit with the Joint Security Committee
(JSC) told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
In Lhokseumawe, North Aceh, some 3,000 people staged a rally Thursday to demand
that the government withdraw Indonesian military (TNI) troops from Aceh for good.
Although police said they had not issued a permit for the rally, the protesters were
permitted to stage their rally under guard of the local police personnel.
North Aceh Police Chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Eko Daryanto said that, since the organizers
had not received permission from police authorities to hold the rally, protesters from
outside Lhokseumawe were restrained from joining the protest.
Over 4,000 people in North and East Aceh have taken refuge within mosque
compounds as armed skirmishes between TNI and GAM continued, even after the
signing of the peace agreement on Dec. 9.
The government and GAM signed the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities in
Geneva, Switzerland, on Dec. 9, marking the turning point of the 26-year conflict in
Aceh. Both parties also agreed to end any hostile acts and violence, which would be
central to determining whether or not the peace agreement would succeed.
A Joint Security Committee (JSC) and monitoring teams were also established within
the first month of the cease-fire. Monitoring team members consist of representatives
of the government, GAM and the Henry Dunant Centre (HDC).
TNI and GAM agreed on Dec. 26 to inform each other on their respective movements
through the JSC by reporting to the committee 48 hours before the scheduled move.
Neither party is allowed to attack the other after they have received the movement
report from JSC.
TNI and GAM also agreed to comply with an accord on sanctions imposed upon
violators of the peace agreement, Fahmi said, adding that the sanction, as determined
by the JSC, would be of a moral penalty, such as the widespread publication of the
perpetrator in the mass media.
Another progress was the deployment of 90 monitoring team members, although the
number still fell short of the 150 members agreed to by both parties.
Monitoring teams consisting a total of 72 personnel were deployed on Dec. 28, while
18 members were deployed on Jan. 7. The teams are mostly stationed in North and
East Aceh.
Acehnese have expressed positive reactions to the implementa tion of the peace
agreement.
"Before the signing of the peace accord, we had no courage to till our farms, because
of the many gunfights between TNI and GAM, but now we even dare to go home at
night from our farms," 56-year-old farmer Abdul Majid said.
Fahmi concurred with Abdul's statement, saying that he had no fears of coming home
at night, from his office in Banda Aceh to his residence, which is located outside the
city.
"That's my personal experience; there's been very positive progress here," he said.
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