Sudirman Nasir, Melbourne – It is crucial that Acehnese, men and women, be directly involved in all stages of rehabilitation programs in the province. Women's participation is also critical since it has become apparent that the civil war and the tsunami disaster have affected women more severely than men.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Several Aceh separatists were shot as GAM began a second round of weapons decommissioning on Friday as part of a peace deal to end three decades of fighting in the province.

Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta – The peace process in Indonesia's Aceh province could soon be irreversible, the head of a European Union-led team monitoring implementation of a truce between the government and rebels said on Wednesday.

Jakarta – The chief peace monitor in Indonesia's Aceh urged exiled separatist rebel leaders on Wednesday to return as soon as possible to help strengthen the peace process in the province.

Adi Warsidi, Banda Aceh – Around 1,000 people from a number of Acehnese social organisations participated in a seminar to discuss a draft law on the organisation of a government in Aceh. The event was held at the Dayan Dawood Building on the Syah Kuala University (Unsyiah) campus in Banda Aceh on October 11.

Adi Warsidi, Jakarta – As many as 116 Free Aceh Movement (GAM) members being detained in Sumatra and Java have yet to be granted amnesty. This is despite the fact that on August 31 the government stated it would grant amnesty to all GAM members as part of the implementation of the peace agreement.

Banda Aceh – The drafting of a bill on Aceh's governance has excluded representatives from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), which demanded self-rule in the province.

"Formally, GAM is not involved in formulating the draft law on governance in Aceh. But they (its leaders) have often taken part in discussions and seminars," Acting Aceh governor Azwar Abubakar said on Sunday.

Ridwan M. Sijabat, Jakarta – There was nowhere to go; all thought was on escaping their burning homes. In an instant, residents in Aceh became refugees in their own homeland.

They lived in refugee camps while waiting for clashes between separatist rebels and government armed forces to end. However, the conflict never looked like stopping and raged for nearly 30 years.

Aguswandi, Banda Aceh – No matter which political camp or organization you belong to in Aceh, there is one similarity throughout: Women are not significantly involved anywhere. Women's potential and actual roles have been neglected across the board in the huge rebuilding efforts in post-tsunami and post-MOU Aceh.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency for Aceh and Nias (BRR) reiterated its promise on Tuesday to speed up reconstruction work in tsunami-affected areas.

Banda Aceh – Acehnese students staged a peaceful protest on Monday demanding that the government dissolve the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency for Aceh and Nias (BRR) since it had failed to perform its mission.

Jakarta – The Indonesian military's top commander denied reports that armed militias continued to exist in Aceh, threatening the province's fragile path towards peace, local media reports said Friday.

Imanuddin Razak, Jakarta – The Aceh peace agreement has been signed and non-local Indonesian Military (TNI) troops and police officers have begun to return to their home bases.

Febry Orida, Leupung – Every morning Yahya leaves home with a hoe in hand. But he is not tending his coffee crops as he did before the tsunami slammed into Aceh's coastlines, killing 131,000 people: He is digging for bodies.

Aleksius Jemadu, Bandung – The success of a monitoring mission involving foreign parties in resolving an intra-state conflict can be achieved as long as the implementation of the peace agreement satisfies the expectations of the conflicting parties.

Nani Afrida, Tamiang – Tears flowed down the cheeks of Nuraida, 35, a resident of Bendahara district, Tamiang regency, Aceh. She murmured prayers while her fingers brushed away the dried leaves from the three graves in front of her.

Peter Gelling – The Indonesian military on Sunday withdrew the last of a promised 6,000 troops from Aceh Province, completing the first phase of the peace accord signed by the government and a separatist rebel group last month.

About 200 soldiers left the town of Lhokseumawe by ship, leaving more than 20,000 Indonesian soldiers still to be withdrawn by the end of the year.

Miswar, Banda Aceh – The chairperson of the Acehnese Popular Democratic Resistance Front (FPDRA), Thamrin Ananda, is calling on all parties not behave in a counter-productive manner and threaten the ideals of the peace process in Aceh.

Riswan, Banda Aceh – The Acehnese people are calling on the Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM) to disarm the militia in Aceh during the period of demilitarisation. If they are not disarmed and their organisations disbanded it could threaten the peace process in Aceh.

Ridwan Max Sijabat and Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – The United Nations food agency expressed deep concern over the slow recovery in tsunami-devastated Aceh, saying another crisis might occur if no action is taken to speed up the ongoing reconstruction and the relief efforts.

Ardimas Sasdi, Jakarta – The peace pact signed by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian government in Helsinki on Aug. 15 has so far brought hopes of a lasting peace to the province after more than 30 years of war.

Nani Afrida, Lhokseumawe – Around 800 Indonesian Military (TNI) soldiers left Aceh on Sunday as the mass withdrawal of reinforcement troops from the province agreed under the recent peace deal began.

The troops, from two infantry battalions, set sail from Krueng Geukueh port in Lhokseumawe aboard the KRI Teluk Sampit naval vessel after six months of duty in the province.

Jakarta – Indonesia will pull 2,600 soldiers out of Aceh province on Tuesday as it steps up the withdrawal of troops under a peace agreement that ended decades of conflict with rebels, an army spokesman said.

Simon Montlake, Lhue and Banda Aceh – For Mahfud and Jaafar, two former Acehnese fighters, life after the rebellion has left time for quiet afternoons like this one, sipping coffee in a cafe. The two men entered into the ranks of civil society last Thursday morning, joining dozens of other rebel soldiers in a convey of vehicles to the provincial capital Banda Aceh.

Jerry Norton, Teupin Raya – Aceh rebels have more than met their initial commitment to hand in their weapons under an agreement aimed at ending nearly 30 years of conflict, international monitors said on Saturday.

Mark Forbes – On Boxing Day Irwandi Yusuf clambered onto a roof inside Banda Aceh's prison and watched a torrent of water wash the walls and most other inmates away.

This week he witnessed his dreams of an independent Aceh vanish as he surrendered guns for peace monitors to destroy.

Fedhly Averouss Bey, Jakarta – The government should not only focus on the disarmament of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) but must also act firmly against civilian groups carrying arms in Aceh, which must be disarmed and disbanded.

Jerry Norton, Banda Aceh – Indonesia will begin withdrawing thousands of troops from strife-torn Aceh province as soon as rebels there complete the first stage of an arms surrender this weekend, the military said on Friday.

Devi Asmarani, Banda Aceh – They used to emerge under the cover of night, sneaking into villages from base camps in the mountains for rare visits to their loved ones or to gather provisions from civilians backing their independence struggle.

Phelim Kyne, Jakarta – Foreign companies contracted to help rebuild Indonesia's tsunami-ravaged Aceh province must actively protect themselves from involvement in potentially graft-tainted projects, an international anti-corruption expert says.

Muhammad Nur Hayid, Jakarta – The destruction of weapons belonging to the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has received a warm welcome. The House of Representatives (DPR) is asking GAM to be consistent and surrender weapons on time.

Banda Aceh – The Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM) has decided that the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has violated the peace agreement by shooting two Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel in Lhokseumawe on September 10, 2005.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – The convoy of motorists consisted of about 50 men, whose faces looked dark while they slowly drove their motorcycles into Banda Aceh city under the watchful eyes of journalists.

Lhokseumawe, Jakarta – Around 1,300 Mobile Brigade Police left Aceh on Wednesday as part of a peace agreement with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels which requires the Indonesian government to gradually withdraw security forces personnel from the province.

The pullout of the police strike force came a day before GAM members start handing over guns to foreign monitors.

Jerry Norton, Banda Aceh – Former rebels in Indonesia's Aceh province began handing in guns to foreign monitors on Thursday under a landmark peace agreement, but differences emerged over what weapons counted under the deal.

The peace process in Indonesia's Aceh province is right on schedule, according to a joint European Union-ASEAN monitoring mission. The Aceh Monitoring Mission today began supervising the disarming of Free Aceh or GAM separatist rebels, after thirty years of conflict.

Alexander Bebordelius is a spokesman for the Aceh Monitoring Mission, in Banda Aceh. He spoke to Sen Lam.

Robin Mcdowell, Peudada – Acehnese rebels emerged from their jungle camps Friday to surrender a second batch of weapons, as the guerrillas and the Indonesian government argued over what kind of guns should count under their peace deal.

Jerry Norton, Krueng Raya – As he impales coconuts on a sharp blade and twists them to remove the husks, M. Nur Taib says things are looking up.

The 35-year-old father of three lost his house and his job when last December's tsunami slammed into Indonesia's Aceh province. He and his family still live in a makeshift shelter of plastic sheets, canvas and wood.

Nani Afrida, Pidie – Distrust and fear still runs deep among members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) as the date for the decommissioning of weapons is drawing near. As the disarmament between Thursday and Saturday nears, GAM members are still apprehensive about a possible backlash from Indonesian Military personnel, whom they have fought for almost 30 years.

Free Aceh Movement rebels, who've fought a guerilla war for almost thirty years, will tomorrow begin handing over a quarter of their weapons as part of a landmark peace agreement reached between them and the government

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The Aceh Working Group (AWG) has urged authorities to disarm and dissolve civilian militias in Aceh province, for fear that they could disrupt the peace process there.

The group accused certain security personnel of mobilizing and recruiting Acehnese civilians as members of the armed militia groups.

Nani Afrida, Pidie – In line with the peace deal earlier signed by the Indonesian government and Free Aceh Movement (GAM), GAM members have begun gathering weapons and have said they are ready to hand them over to the Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM).

AK-42, Bireuen – The public flogging of nine convicted gamblers, which took place on the grounds of the Bireuen Grand Mosque on Friday September 9, failed to attract spectators.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – It might not have been the kind of birthday present that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono wished for, but nonetheless hundreds of protesters, led by former President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, staged a rally against his Aceh policy on Friday.

AK-38, Jakarta – TNI (armed forces) chief Endriartono Sutarto says that the TNI does not want to be blamed if the peace process in Aceh fails. "Even if it fails, I don't want the failure to be caused by the TNI's side.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visited Indonesian Military (TNI) headquarters on Wednesday in order to convince the armed forces that the peace deal with Aceh rebels would not pose a threat to national integrity.

Dimas, Jakarta – The surrender of Free Aceh Movement (GAM) weapons that will begin on September 15 will be done in three stages. Before being destroyed, the weapons will be verified by the TNI (armed forces).

Muhammad Nur Hayid, Jakarta – The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) is apparently made up of many factions. If one of these fractions disagrees with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Indonesian government and GAM there is concern that it will become an obstacle to the creation of peace in Aceh.

Jakarta – The Indonesian National Defense Forces (TNI) has prepared a contingency plan for the eventuality that the peace agreement signed by the Indonesian government and GAM (Free Aceh Movement) is not implemented properly, a spokesman said here Thursday.

Jakarta – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has said that the holding of human rights trials scheduled to try human rights violations in Aceh would not use retroactive principles.