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Indons, Aceh rebels, agree to peace deal...
Indonesia's government and separatist rebels in Aceh province have agreed to sign a peace deal to end 26 years of fighting that has killed thousands of people, international mediators said Tuesday. The deal will be signed on Dec. 9 in Geneva, Switzerland, according to the Geneva-based Henry Dunant Center for Humanitarian Dialogue, which has facilitated talks between the sides since 2000. "The Henry Dunant Center has talked with the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement," the group's spokesman Bill Dowell told reporters in the northern city of Lhokseumawe. "They said they will sign the peace agreement for Aceh." Since they're surrounded, perhaps it's best... A peace deal would end Southeast Asia's longest-running war. The region on the northern tip of Sumatra island, once an independent sultanate, has a long history of defiance. The Dutch invaded in 1870, but resistance lasted until 1940 in a war that cost the Dutch army tens of thousands of lives. Aceh residents fought for Indonesian independence from 1945 to 1949, when the Dutch tried to re-establish their rule. The rebellion broke out again in the early 1950s after Jakarta ignored promises to allow the province greater self-government. The rebellion later petered out, but reignited in 1976, and there has been fighting ever since. Well, by golly, I'm sure they'll abide by their agreement for greater self-government this time. If you can't trust the Indonesian government, who can you trust? At least 12,000 people - mostly civilians - have died since 1990, including nearly 2,000 this year alone. The proposed peace plan offers more autonomy for the province's four million inhabitants and elections for a provincial legislature and administration. A 150-member team of international monitors, including former military officers from Europe and Asia, would oversee the arrangement. Somehow I see this as a marriage of convenience... The move toward peace comes during an unprecedented siege by Indonesian troops of a rebel camp in the north of the province. The siege was launched despite the rebels' unilateral cease-fire declared at the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. That was mighty noble of the rebels. Dumb, but mighty noble. Thousands of soldiers have surrounded the base for more than a week calling on the insurgents to surrender. A military spokesman said one soldier was killed and two others injured in the fighting Monday. Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2002-11-19 |
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