No subject

differences between the rebels originated from the inclusion of political 
issues -- including GAM's acceptance of special autonomy for Aceh -- in the 
peace accord, which the Aceh separatist movement essentially considered 
a "Cessation of Hostilities Agreement" or a cease-fire. 

Separately, spokesman for the Iskandar Muda Military Command Lt. Col. Firdaus 
Komarno said security troops would foil efforts to commemorate the GAM 
anniversary. 

"The Iskandar Muda Military Command is only following the orders of the 
government, which has banned the commemoration of the GAM anniversary on Dec. 
4. Since it is banned, the TNI must make sure it is not commemorated," Firdaus 
told the Post. 

He confirmed that the number of combat troops deployed in Aceh had reached 
22,000, double the number in other regional military commands. 

Besides preventing any commemoration of GAM's anniversary, he said, the troops 
were also assigned to protect civilians from GAM terror. 

Separately, state news agency Antara reported that GAM negotiators were 
expected to depart for Geneva, Switzerland, on Dec. 7. 

Teuku Kamaruzzaman confirmed on Tuesday that he had been invited by the Henry 
Dunant Center to attend the Geneva meeting. 

At the meeting, GAM will send four negotiators. The four, Kamaruzzaman, Amni 
bin Marzuki, Amdi bin Hamdani, and Teungku Muhammad Lampoh Awee, will depart on 
Dec. 7. 

The final say on their departure, however, will depend on the concept and idea 
of the peace agreement from the perspectives of both the government and GAM. 
The concept of the peace agreement that is to be signed by both sides has yet 
to be finished. 

Kamaruzzaman added that apart from the GAM negotiators, civilian leaders from 
Aceh would also attend the talks in Geneva. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Australian News Network
$2m for Aceh peace deal: Downer
December 03, 2002

A delicate Indonesian peace agreement in danger of fracture before it is signed 
will have $2 million from Australia to help it succeed, Foreign Minister 
Alexander Downer said.

The peace agreement for Aceh is due to be signed next week in Geneva by the 
separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian government.

But the pro-independence forces are wary of ending their 26-year struggle to 
separate from Indonesia.

Even today, they threatened to pull out of the December 9 event if the 
government uses security forces to suppress ceremonies to commemorate the 26th 
anniversary tomorrow of the independence struggle.

Australia will contribute to the peace, contributing $2 million to help fund an 
international ceasefire monitoring group, Mr Downer said. 

"This group will have a key role in monitoring the adherence of the Indonesian 
government and the GAM to their undertakings under the peace agreement," Mr 
Downer said in a statement.

"Australia has consistently advocated a peaceful solution to the conflict in 
Aceh."

Thousands of people have been killed in the long-running conflict in the 
staunchly Muslim province which has a long history of defending its 
independence.

Once a powerful sultanate, Aceh was occupied in 1870 by the Dutch, who attached 
it to their East Indies colony - which gained independence as Indonesia in 1949.

The province has been the scene of almost constant warfare for more than 130 
years, as guerrillas battled Dutch and later Indonesian rule. 
-- AAP
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Voice of America
Aid to Indonesian Province Discussed by International Aid Donors
Amy Bickers
Tokyo
03 Dec 2002, 09:57 UTC

Two-dozen nations and international organizations are in Tokyo to discuss aid 
to the strife-torn Indonesian province of Aceh. The meeting comes less than one 
week ahead of the expected signing of a peace pact between Acehnese rebels and 
the Indonesian government. 

Indonesia is the main focus at the gathering of international aid donors in 
Tokyo, sponsored by the World Bank, Japan, the United States and the European 
Union. The big question is how best to support Indonesia as it seeks peace with 
its restive province of Aceh. 

Delegates say they are mulling over how to finance reconstruction and 
international monitoring once the Indonesian government and rebels from the 
Free Aceh Movement sign a peace agreement. 

Sidney Jones is a Jakarta-based analyst for the International Crisis Group, a 
non-governmental organization. She says one of the first tasks of donor nations 
is to help bolster Aceh's legal system. "There needs to be a real focus on the 
justice sector. There is the feeling that justice has not been done in Aceh for 
the last 20 years or more," she says. "That has fueled the resentment of the 
Acehnese against the central government." 

Violence between government and rebel forces in Aceh has killed more than 
10,000 people since 1976, when rebels first declared independence. Officials 
say the world needs to see that peace has taken root before donor funds flow to 
the province. Ms. Jones of the International Crisis Group says that creating 
jobs and repairing Aceh's social infrastructure will then be the top priorities 
for donors. "The issue of how funds are managed is critical because most 
Acehnese see the current autonomous government as a hotbed of corruption," says 
Ms. Jones. "The feeling is that unless funds are strictly controlled, they will 
go the way of all other grants and loans: straight into the pockets of local 
officials." 

Aceh rebels and government representatives are meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, 
Friday and international mediators say an accord to end their conflict will be 
signed Monday. 

A draft of the deal calls on the rebels to disarm and on Indonesian forces to 
reduce their presence in the area. Aid donors say they will watch the process 
closely to see how they can best assist with strengthening Aceh's economy and 
political system. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Australian Financial Review (via Joyo Indonesia News)
December 4, 2002
Jakarta Observed
Peace deal for Aceh a priority
Tim Dodd

Is there anything as important to Indonesia's future than success in the effort 
to clamp down on radical Islamic terrorists? The answer is yes, almost 
certainly. It is the effort to successfully conclude a peace deal in Aceh, the 
resource-rich province at the northern tip of Sumatra, which has been in a 
state of civil war between Indonesian security forces and separatist rebels for 
the past 13 years.

And events in Aceh are coming to a head. First of all, today is the anniversary 
of the founding of the Free Aceh Movement, or Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, which is 
usually celebrated by the rebels with well-publicised flag raisings around the 
province.

As in past years it could be the trigger for yet another crackdown by the 
Indonesian army and police, adding yet more casualties to the 12,000 or so 
already dead.

But next Monday there promises to be an event which is truly out of the box, 
one which could break the depressing cycle of violence that has been the norm 
in Aceh for so long.

The Indonesian Government appears ready to sign a peace accord with GAM in 
Geneva in which both sides agree to cease hostilities, the Indonesian army will 
pull out most of its forces and the rebels will disarm.

It is coupled with a special autonomy offer to Aceh which will allow the 
province to elect its own government and collect the lion's share of royalties 
from resources in Aceh, principally the Arun LNG field which is Indonesia's 
second-largest source of gas.

Is solving the long-running separatist conflict in Aceh really as important to 
Indonesia as defeating the radical terrorist threat which threatens the whole 
nation? The answer is yes, because a solution in Aceh is likely to have a very 
positive impact on Indonesia's long-term stability and its economic and 
political development. Here's why. 

A serious effort to make the peace deal work will force Indonesia's elite to 
confront a series of issues that they must solve if the country is to progress. 
The key institution which needs to have a hard look at itself is the army. Aceh 
has been under what has been virtual military rule for 13 years. The army 
controls a large slice of Aceh's thriving marijuana trade (the Acehnese accept 
the drug as a normal condiment), and garners large sums of money from 
exploiting the forestry industry and protecting Exxon Mobil's LNG plant.

There is a joke in Jakarta which goes: "An army officer goes to Aceh with an M-
16 and comes back with 16M [16 billion rupiah or about $3million]."

Not only does the Aceh conflict boost officers' personal wealth. It is also 
important for the army institutionally. Military analysts believe that the 
armed forces budget is only about 30 per cent of its running costs. The rest 
has to be raised from legal and illegal businesses and Aceh is a very fertile 
source of cash.

So if peace is to work, the army, and individual officers, have to set aside 
their financial incentive to maintain the conflict and begin to act like a 
professional force.

The army also needs to drop its traditional practice, almost a doctrine, of 
using force to try to instil loyalty to the state. Until now the army has been 
seemingly oblivious to the fact that its brutality towards civilians is the 
main reason why the central Jakarta government has not been able to win the 
hearts and minds of the Acehnese. Fortunately there are signs that the army, 
and other like-minded political conservatives in Jakarta, are beginning to 
change.

Under the new armed forces commander, General Endriartono Sutarto, the army 
appears willing so far to accept a key element of the peace accord - the 
presence of mainly Thai and Filipino military observers to monitor the deal.

To accept foreign military observers is a major step in the development of 
Indonesia's political maturity. A foreign military presence has never been 
accepted with equanimity in the past. It has always been too easy for 
Indonesia's bellicose nationalists to stir feeling against them.

For example, Indonesia would not accept foreign military observers in East 
Timor before the independence referendum in 1999, mainly because the army 
planned to disrupt the vote with its militia groups. In Aceh, the fact that the 
army is not complaining about observers is a hopeful sign of its good faith.

It may indicate that General Endriartono, a conservative army general who 
commanded president Soeharto's palace guard during the 1998 turmoil which 
pushed him from power, is ready to discard traditional shibboleths.

In short, the Aceh peace deal is important not only because it could end the 
conflict in Sumatra. It has greater significance because of its spin-off 
benefits. A successful solution will force the Jakarta government and the army 
into reforms that will change the way the whole of Indonesia operates.

Success will also give Indonesia a much-needed boost of self-confidence and set 
a precedent for resolving the many other local conflicts in the country.

But there are caveats. Even at this late stage a peace deal is not in the bag. 
It is not completely certain that GAM will sign the accord or that all of its 
elements will agree to the disarmament provisions. And the army itself may be 
bargaining that it will fail. 
[Last week's Jakarta observed column was incorrectly attributed to Rowan 
Callick. The author was South-East Asia correspondent Tim Dodd.]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~