Gustavo Capdevila, Geneva – Delegates from the government of Indonesia and from the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) have agreed to negotiate an and to hostilities and a process for electing democratic authorities for the northern Indonesian province of Aceh, an effort to be undertaken "with all speed".
The agreement, confirmed Friday after two days of talks in this Swiss city, also calls for a revision – that reflects the viewpoint of the Aceh people – of the special statute for autonomy issued in 2001 by Jakarta, known as Islamic Nation of Aceh Law (NAD).
GAM has been engaged in armed and political action since 1976 seeking independence for the province of Aceh, which is rich in natural gas and is home to 4.5 million people, just two percent of the total Indonesian population. The region holds 20 percent of Indonesia's natural gas reserves, but just 1.6 of the revenue the country earns from gas exports are returned to Aceh.
Hasballah Saad, former Human Rights minister of Indonesia, stated that 40 percent of the villages in Aceh, his birthplace, are in complete misery, in spite of being surrounded by the wealth represented by the natural gas fields.
The Indonesian government's repressive actions, ostensibly against the rebels, have claimed more than 10,000 lives, mostly civilians. So far this year, the death toll has reached 400, according to estimates by the Indonesian media.
Indonesia's President Megawati Sukanoputri faces a series of simultaneous conflicts of separatist or ethnic nature, in Irian Jaya (Western Papua) and Molucas.
Since the Sepember 11 terror attacks, US diplomacy has expressed concern about the persistence in Asia of armed conflicts, as is also occurring in the Philippines, involving extremist Islamic rebels.
Evidence of Washington's unease is the fact that the US special envoy to the Middle East, Anthony Zinni, participated in the negotiations this week in Geneva.
Also in attendance were Eric Avebury, chairman of the Human Rights Commission in the British House of Lords, and Thailand's Surin Pitsuwan, former minister of Foreign Relations.
The joint declaration bears the signatures of Ambassador Wiryono Sastrohandoyo, representing Jakarta, and of Zaini Abdullah, representing GAM.
Facilitating the talks was the Henry Dunant Center, an independent Swiss organization dedicated to conflict resolution, named for the founder of the Red Cross.
The joint statement says that the parties recognize the NAD Law on autonomy, drawn up by Jakarta, as the starting point to "democratic all-inclusive dialogue involving all elements of Acehnese society." The Henry Dunant Center will continue to facilitate further talks, which will be held in Aceh.
"This process will seek to review elements of the [statute] through the expression of the views of the Acehnese people in a free and safe manner," states the joint communiqui.
The text is left open to opposing interpretations, because the Acehnese largely opposed the autonomy law because they consider it a palliative measure imposed by Jakarta in a bid for time to see the results of military operations against the GAM rebels.
Indonesian authorities pressed the GAM to accept the statute, which would mean renouncing the goals of independence for Aceh and the convocation of a referendum to validate it, similar to what was demanded and achieved by the people of East Timor, formerly an Indonesian possession.
The direction the agreement will take will develop in the new negotiations slated to begin in Aceh and end within two years, according to sources close to the talks in Geneva.
But before an agreement on the future of the province can be reached, the parties must "work with all speed on an agreement on cessation of hostilities with an adequate mechanism for accountability of the parties to such an agreement," according to the document signed Friday.
Once an understanding is achieved on the two points – peace and the future of Aceh – there will be an "election of a democratic government in Aceh, Indonesia."