Australian to support Aceh peace deal July 18, 2005 - 2:19PM
http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/Australian-to-support-Aceh-peace-deal/2005/07/18/1121538905828.html Australia would do whatever it could to support a new peace deal between the Indonesian government and rebels in Aceh province, Defence Minister Robert Hill said. Rebels from the separatist Free Aceh Movement and government negotiators have agreed to sign a formal peace agreement on August 15, aimed at bringing an end to a conflict that has raged since 1976 and cost nearly 15,000 lives. Senator Hill said the deal was promising following decades of "agony". "We will do whatever we can to support this process, we've done that all along," Senator Hill told reporters in Brisbane. "We've supported the Indonesia government in its efforts to achieve a negotiated settlement. "We congratulate them for making those efforts, and it can only be for the benefit for the people of Aceh ... and Indonesia as a whole." Both sides agreed "no substantive changes" will be introduced to the eight-page initialled memorandum before it is signed in Finland. Senator Hill said Australia had not been asked to deploy any of its troops to watch over the peace process. Negotiators said the deal covers the governing of Aceh province and rebel participation in the political process. It also contains an amnesty for the separatist rebels and the establishment of an Aceh monitoring mission consisting of unarmed European Union and South East Asian observers. Negotiators said full details of the accord would not be released before the formal signing. It was unclear whether the accord explicitly allows the rebels to form their own Aceh-based political party, something that was a key separatist demand during the talks. Vice President Jusuf Kalla said the parliament would have to change the law to accommodate the demand, indicating the issue could remain a potential stumbling block between the government and rebels. "A local party would need a change in the law, that would need the agreement of the parliament," Kalla told reporters in Jakarta hours after the talks ended in Helsinki. "The government will try as hard as it can to create the political and legal situation in support of that." Indonesia media quoted party leaders in the parliament as saying they would not agree to changing the law. Indonesian law currently states that political parties must have representation in at least half of the country's 32 provinces and be headquartered in Jakarta. Peace between the two sides would also ease the massive international relief effort in Aceh, still recovering from the Boxing Day tsunami that killed more than 130,000 people. It will also be a political boost for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and could provide a blueprint for resolving another secessionist crisis in Papua. © 2005 AAP __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com *************************************************************************** Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny. http://www.ppi-india.org *************************************************************************** __________________________________________________________________________ Mohon Perhatian: 1. Harap tdk. memposting/reply yg menyinggung SARA (kecuali sbg otokritik) 2. Pesan yg akan direply harap dihapus, kecuali yg akan dikomentari. 3. Lihat arsip sebelumnya, http://dear.to/ppi 4. Satu email perhari: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 5. No-email/web only: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 6. kembali menerima email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
