Indonesia's Aceh celebrates one year of peace

Banda Aceh (Indonesia), Aug 15: Thousands of Achenese gathered today around the provincial capital's black-domed mosque to mark the anniversary of a landmark truce and to urge Indonesia's government not to water down the pact.

Truck driver Rasyidin drove 11 hours with 35 of his neighbours from a northern Aceh village to join the rally.

''If I do not like the peace I have enjoyed in the past year, I would not be here,'' the 40-year old said.

''I hope it stays that way, but we do not know what the future has for us,'' he added, standing beside his yellow truck.

The separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian government signed a pact in Helsinki on August 15, 2005, aimed at ending a 30-year war in which 15,000 people died and giving Acehnese greater power over their own affairs.

Acehnese from across the resource-rich province on the tip of Sumatra island, many from GAM stronghold areas, have descended upon Banda Aceh in the last two days.

Organisers expect more than 100,000 to take part in a rally.

The official anniversary celebrations later today will be attended by former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari, the chief mediator of the Helsinki talks, and Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla, the architect of Aceh's post-tsunami peace process.

Last month, Indonesia's parliament passed a bill that paved the way for direct elections of executives in the Aceh province on Sumatra island's northern tip.

GAM officials have welcomed the new law but said that some of its provisions must be amended because they were not in line with the peace agreement.

Truck driver Rasyidin had little idea of the truce's content, although a banner on his truck said: ''We do not want to be fooled again''. Others gathering around the mosque had clearer opinions.

''The Aceh people have the right to object if they havea problem with an iota in the bill. We are thankful for the truce but we want to ensure it will not fail us,'' said Ibrahim Nyak Mad, a handicraft maker from Sigli, a two-hour drive away.

''We are victims of the conflict. We are entitled to enjoy the entire deal,'' he said, insisting the rally was no GAM event.

Jakarta argues the bill has made Aceh the envy of other provinces due to its new powers. Information Minister Sofyan Djalil said last week that giving Aceh additional powers could trigger lawsuits from those who think the province already has a good deal.

But the Aceh-born Djalil has also said that amendments to the law were possible ''two years down the road'' after implementation.

The international mission monitoring implementation of the deal has said the new laws are broadly in line with the pact.

Pieter Feith, head of the Aceh Monitoring Mission, said in a statement his group would extend its stay beyond a Sept. 15 deadline until December elections, although with a heavily reduced force of 35 monitors.

Last year's Helsinki-signed deal, which followed months of talks between GAM and Jakarta, was spurred by the December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that left around 170,000 people killed or missing in Aceh.

Reuters