Indonesia, Aceh Rebels Sign Pact

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia —  The Indonesian government and Acehnese rebel leaders signed a landmark agreement Monday in Helsinki, Finland, that ends one of Asia’s longest-running wars and brings peace to a region devastated by the Dec. 26 tsunami.

After fighting for nearly 29 years, the rebel Free Aceh Movement agreed to drop its demand for the independence of Aceh province in exchange for the opportunity to participate in the political process.

The government agreed to reduce its force of more than 30,000 troops in the province to 14,700, release more than 1,400 political prisoners and grant amnesty to the rebels. The rebel fighters, who are believed to number 3,000 to 4,000, will give up their weapons and in return receive land or jobs from the government.

“This is the beginning of a new era for Aceh,” said former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, who mediated the peace talks as chairman of the Crisis Management Initiative, an independent organization involved in resolving disputes around the world.

After the 2003 collapse of negotiations in Tokyo, the government placed Aceh under military rule. But last Dec. 26, the dynamics of the province, at the northern tip of Sumatra island, changed. The Indian Ocean tsunami devastated Aceh, killing about 130,000 people. The waves destroyed countless villages and half the city of Banda Aceh, where bodies littered the streets and fishing boats were washed miles inland.

The urgent need to bring aid to Aceh prompted newly elected Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to open the isolated province to outsiders, including American troops, for the first time. Weeks later, under the glare of international attention, the government and the rebels agreed to reopen peace talks.

In Banda Aceh, the provincial capital, thousands of people began gathering at the imposing Baiturrahman Mosque hours before the signing to witness the event on two dozen television screens set up in large tents.

As Indonesian Justice and Human Rights Minister Hamid Awaluddin and Malik Mahmud, the rebels’ prime minister, signed the document, the crowd applauded and cheered.

“I would be very happy if we have peace here,” said Ibnu Ali, 58, a high school teacher from the coastal town of Meulaboh who said his house had been shot up by the rebels. “I would thank God if we finally have peace.”

Acehnese separatists contend that Aceh was a free state illegally absorbed by Indonesia, which had just declared independence from the Netherlands, in 1945. The Acehnese, who once ruled much of Sumatra island, had held off the Dutch colonialists for a century. In 1976, they began fighting for independence from Indonesia under the leadership of their hereditary sultan, Hasan di Tiro, who now lives in exile in Sweden.

In nearly three decades of low-level fighting, the war has claimed as many as 15,000 lives. The Indonesian military has been accused of widespread human rights violations, including the kidnapping and murder of civilians.

The Free Aceh Movement, known by its Indonesian acronym GAM, also has been accused of abuses and criticized for collecting “taxes” from civilians to finance its operations.

Aceh province, more than 1,000 miles from Jakarta, the nation’s capital, is one of Indonesia’s wealthiest, with large oil and gas deposits offshore.

For the rebels, who are proud of their tradition of fighting to the death, giving up the demand for independence was the hardest part.

Mahmud, who also lives in Sweden, said the decision required a “leap of faith” in the Indonesian government after decades of what he termed “military violence and repression.”

“There has been no peace in Aceh because there has been no justice in Aceh,” he said. “What we hope we have achieved with the signing of this peace agreement is the beginning of a process that will bring justice to the people of Aceh.”

Mahmud said the rebels’ major achievement in the negotiations was getting the government to change the political system, which had allowed only national parties to put forward candidates in local elections. Under the agreement, Acehnese will be able to form local political parties that can offer candidates.

The rebels won additional concessions. The province, which for decades has seen most of its wealth siphoned off by the central government in Jakarta, will receive 70% of government revenue from its oil and gas reserves.

In addition, a Human Rights Court and a Truth and Reconciliation Commission will be established to address grievances from victims of both the military and the rebels.

The Acehnese also will be able to fly their own flag. Separatists in other provinces are jailed for flying their flags.

The disarmament of the rebels and the withdrawal of troops are set to begin in mid-September.

The process will be overseen by 200 monitors from the European Union and five neighboring Asian countries, another significant concession by Indonesia.

In Jakarta, Yudhoyono praised the peace accord, the biggest accomplishment of his first 10 months in office.

“Today is absolutely a happy, joyous and historic day,” the president said. “I thank God and all our brothers who had joined GAM but eventually in good faith decided to end the conflict in Aceh and rejoin the big, extended family of the Indonesian people.”

Among those who came to Baiturrahman Mosque to take part in the celebration was Raihana Diani, chairwoman of the Acehnese Women’s Democratic Organization. She said she was optimistic that the peace agreement would last because the international community, with its huge investment in tsunami aid, would be watching the two sides closely.

“If they used to fight with guns, now they will fight with the ballot box,” the democracy activist said. “Now both have an even chance to win people’s hearts.”

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Special correspondent Jouhana reported from Banda Aceh and Times staff writer Paddock from Singapore. Sari Sudarsono of The Times’ Jakarta Bureau contributed to this report.