December 10, 2002	Tuesday	Shawwal 5,1423

GENEVA, Dec 9: The Indonesan government and separatist rebels from the province of Aceh on Monday signed a historic truce here after 26 years of conflict, but both sides warned they would need to work hard to secure a lasting peace.

Mediators hailed the agreement, which provides for an immediate ceasefire, as a “historic day for the people of Aceh” after two years of delicate and secretive negotiations in Switzerland over the troubled oil-rich province.

Under the “cessation of hostilities framework agreement”, Acehnese separatists will start placing their weapons in demilitarized “peace zones” in two months’ time, with Indonesian forces withdrawing to defensive positions in Aceh.

“A victory has been achieved,” said chief Indonesian negotiator S. Wiryono after he signed the agreement.

“There is still a great deal of work to be done before we can say a durable peace exists in Aceh,” he added.

Zaini Abdullah, one of the leaders of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM), said: “The achievement today is the direct result of the struggle and sacrifice of our people.”

“Both sides agree that hostilities and all acts of violence by both sides should cease forever in Aceh,” the accord reads.

However, Indonesian and rebel officials admitted they still had to settle crucial details to build confidence ahead of elections in Aceh in 2004, notably on monitoring, disarmament and the province’s future government.

A Joint Security Committee involving officials from both sides as well as officials from Thailand and the Philippines will supervise the truce.

Indonesian coordinating minister for political and security affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the monitoring arrangement still needed further discussion.

Mediators from the Geneva-based Henry Dunant Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue — instrumental in reaching the agreement — said it should involve up to 150 mainly foreign monitors.

The deal aims to push forward with plans first outlined in May for elections for a “democratically elected government” in two years’ time, and an “all-inclusive” consultation process inside Aceh in the next months to decide on their future.

The text of the agreement does not make specific mention of autonomy.

“Let the Acehnese decide for themselves, and GAM will follow,” Malik Mahmud, a seniro official of GAM told a news conference.

“In this process we will let the Acehnese decide whether they want independence, or if they want to stay in Indonesia,” he added.

Indonesian officials highlighted limited autonomy arrangements being implemented in Aceh and other Indonesian provinces.

“For example, electing the governor must be done directly. Not through Jakarta,” Yudhoyono said.

At least 10,000 people have been killed in fighting in Aceh, at the northern tip of Sumatra island, since GAM was founded in December 1976.

Ceasefires agreed in the past two years have broken down, with each side accusing the other of bad faith.

In Aceh, war-weary residents were cautiously hopeful over the agreement, but expressed doubt whether it would work.

“The most important thing for us people of Aceh is that there should be no more killings in Aceh,” said vegetable vendor Ramlah, 60.

In Monday’s agreement, GAM and the Indonesian authorities have guaranteed to keep their forces, including groups not under their direct control, in check.

“There are going to be violations but this time there will be a mechanism for dealing with them,” Britain’s Lord Avebury, part of an international group of advisers to the talks, said.

The 22,000 troops and 15,000 paramilitary police in Aceh vastly outnumber GAM, whose active strength was estimated by the military in February as 2,000.

Recent separatist sentiment is rooted in widespread resentment of Jakarta for its exploitation of Aceh’s oil and gas wealth, a history of human rights abuses by security forces, and decades of perceived broken promises to respect Aceh’s distinct culture.—AFP