On May 12, the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) signed a three-month "peace accord" at a secret location in Geneva. A government statement said the cease-fire would come into effect on June 2 and would be reviewed regularly.
"This joint understanding is an early step of a hundred-step journey in the efforts to find a final solution to the Aceh problem", said Indonesia's ambassador to the United Nations, Hassan Wirajuda, who signed the deal with Zaini Abdullah, GAM health minister.
An Indonesian statement said two joint committees would be set up to oversee the cease-fire. One committee would coordinate humanitarian aid deliveries while the other sought to ensure the reduction of tension and the cessation of violence.
Although the deal requires both sides to "return to the barracks", it does not include the withdrawal of any of the thousands of Indonesian troops based in Aceh who are believed to be responsible for massive human rights abuses, including extra-judicial killings and disappearances, rape and torture over the last 24 years. Around 2000 people are believed to have died in the conflict, at least 366 — mostly civilians — this year alone in a crackdown against GAM.
Independence
The deal came amid repeated assertions by Indonesia's President Abdurrahman Wahid that Jakarta would not bow to Acehnese demands for independence. Instead, Wahid is promising the people more autonomy and a greater share of the province's wealth.
According to a May 12 report by Agence France-Presse, a GAM statement following the signing of the agreement said that the move did not mean GAM is "becoming weaker in its struggle for the independence of Aceh".
There have also been warnings that the pact could be sabotaged by "rogue elements" who do not want to see an end to the conflict. On May 13, the Straits Times said that non-government groups have pointed to a spate of recent bombings in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, which they say were carried out by elements in the military opposed to the trial of 13 soldiers charged with the murder of 58 Acehnese in July 1999. Others say that the bombers are criminal gangs who instigate the violence for business reasons.
Despite public guarantees from armed forces commander Admiral Widodo that he supports the accord, an analyst told the Straits Times that he doubted that all factions of Indonesia's "fragmented" military would support the agreement.
Saifuddin Bantasyam, executive director of Care Human Rights Forum, was quoted in the May 13 South China Morning Post as saying the agreement "is a step forward, however small. It may enable the humanitarian situation to improve ...
"But I have the impression that the military does not want there to be a dialogue with GAM. In truth, there has been no meaningful change in the intensity of the conflict. The battle is still between GAM and the Indonesian military and police."
Just one day after the agreement was reached, five civilians and two soldiers were wounded in a clash between GAM and Indonesian troops. Banda Aceh military commander Colonel Syarifudin Tippe said on May 15 that the rebels involved in the clash were a unit of GAM that does not approve of the peace deal. "There are some groups within GAM who cannot be controlled", he said.
International attention
In response to criticisms that the agreement gives de facto recognition to GAM as representative of the Acehnese people and that this could open the door for international recognition, Wahid told reporters on May 12 that the agreement is a "humanitarian pause not a cease-fire", because cease-fire implies equal status to both parties. So there is no business about giving recognition to anyone by anyone."
Wahid's statement has already created an atmosphere of distrust. Rebel spokesperson Ismail Sahputra said that, by insisting it was not a cease-fire, Wahid was backing away from the spirit of the agreement. "We don't believe it can work because Gus Dur [Wahid] says it one way before it is announced and them says it is like this. A cease-fire and stopping human rights violations have to go together." He added that he doubted the government could control all of its troops.
The move has also attracted flak from Jakarta-based politicians. Analyst Salim Said was quoted in the Straits Times on May 13 as saying: "There is a feeling of concern among politicians that what the President is doing is leading us to a second Timor fiasco. They are really afraid that by bringing it to an international level we will open a Pandora's Box and encourage another disappointed regions to go internationally to address the problem."
Sensitivity over the issue is such that at the last minute Wahid decided against sending foreign minister Alwi Shihab to witness the signing because of "concerns from inside the country" that this would give the appearance of an official recognition of GAM by Indonesia.
BY JAMES BALOWSKI