Aceh truce to curb Indonesia military movements
By Achmad SukarsonoJAKARTA (Reuters) - The Aceh peace deal to be signed in Helsinki on Monday will severely restrict Indonesian troops moving around the province in large numbers without telling truce monitors in advance, according to a copy of the pact.
The requirement is likely to draw criticism from nationalist politicians and hawkish army generals already unhappy with the deal, aimed at ending one of Asia's longest insurgencies.
Talks between Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), a separatist group that has fought for Acehnese independence since 1976, started early this year in the wake of the Dec. 26 tsunami that devastated Aceh province.
More than 12,000 people, mostly civilians, have died in the fighting.
"There will be no major movements of military forces after the signing of this MoU (memorandum of understanding)," according to the pact, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.
"All movements more than a platoon size will require prior notification to the head of the monitoring mission," it said. An Indonesian army platoon consists of between 30 and 70 soldiers.
The Aceh Monitoring Mission will consist of around 200 members from the European Union and five Southeast Asian nations. The group will not only oversee security arrangements but also monitor the legislation changes agreed by Indonesia and GAM.
One of the stickiest issues has been how Indonesia will foster local political parties in Aceh, including reincarnating GAM into a conventional political player from a rebel group.
The pact specifies that legal avenues for these groups to join politics must be ready by March 31, 2006, and also that an election of the head of the Aceh administration would take place next April.
The Aceh election commission had been scheduled to hold the election for Aceh governor in December.
Copyright © 2008 Reuters
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