The Jakarta Post, August 15, 2006
GAM seeks Aceh law amendments
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The formerly rebellious Free Aceh Movement(GAM) is dissatisfied with several articles
in the newly enacted law on Aceh governance, but its leaders say the group will wait
to see how the law is put into practice, and work through normal channels to amend
it.
Former self-styled GAM foreign minister Zaini Abdullah said several articles in the law
violated the truce signed last year to end three decades of separatist fighting in Aceh.
But he emphasized that the peace deal has enabled the Acehnese people to live in
peace at last, free from the fear of being shot or abducted.
"We see here and there in the law several things that still don't reflect the peace
accord but we are very happy to see that compared to a year ago, the Acehnese
people are now living a normal life," he said on the sidelines of a one-day conference
Monday in Jakarta to mark a year of peace in the province.
Zaini gave assurances that former rebels would not disrupt that peace, and would
discuss the contentious articles with the government to find the best solution.
Former GAM negotiator Tengku Kamaruzzaman said several articles of the law
curtailed privileges that were granted to the Aceh administration in the truce, including
the ability to lure direct foreign investment and to manage the province's natural
resources.
"We are now discussing with the government possibilities of amending the law ... The
most important aspect is how the law is put into regulations that can benefit the
Acehnese people. Several previous laws on Aceh were useless because of the
absence of regulations to implement them," he told The Jakarta Post.
Communications and Information Minister Sofyan Djalil, who was born in Aceh, was
quoted by Reuters as saying amendments to the landmark law were possible "two
years down the road" after it was implemented.
The international peace mission monitoring implementation of the deal has said the
new law is broadly in line with the peace accord.
The government argues that the law has made Aceh the envy of other provinces due
to its new powers.
The law passed by the House of Representatives early last month was called for in
the peace pact signed last Aug. 15 in Helsinki, Finland, by the government and GAM
leaders. It paves the way for local direct elections scheduled for mid-December.
Under the peace accord, GAM dropped its demand for Acehnese independence in
return for greater autonomy and the right to form local political parties, which are
banned elsewhere in the country.
Meanwhile, former GAM armed forces chief Muzakkir Manaf said some 30,000 of his
former military men were waiting for compensation from the government to enable
them to start rebuilding their lives, as stipulated in the peace pact.
"Only 25 to 30 percent of the peace deal has been realized. My men need jobs and
plots of land to start over. We realize that it will depend on their skills but we still have
not received anything," he said.
Muzakkir said not all of the former GAM guerrillas had received the three-hectare plot
of land and financial aid promised by the government.
"Of course, we are disappointed but probably this is an ongoing process," he said.
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