Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – A vegetable vendor was busy tending to customers at a makeshift stall at the central market of Banda Aceh on Friday.

Nearby a congregation prayed at the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque to commemorate the third anniversary of the peace pact between the Aceh Freedom Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian government in Helsinki, Finland.

"I didn't know today was the anniversary of the peace agreement," Nurma, 40, told The Jakarta Post. She said, however, that she had directly felt the effects of the pact.

"Before the treaty, our kampong was very tense. We had trouble putting food on the table," said the resident of Tanjung Selamat in the provincial capital.

"Now people can go out at night without worry. The most important thing is that there is no longer fear like there was during the conflict," she said.

However, World Bank conflict resolution specialist in Aceh, Muslahudin Daud, said at least 15 of 71 clauses of the Helsinki pact had not been fully implemented.

"The provincial administration and central government have to promptly settle two crucial matters,... policy-making and implementation of the points", in the memorandum of understanding, he said.

Muslahudin said the central government had not granted full power of authority to the province's policymakers, as promised in the MOU.

Issues on re-integration and reconciliation remain pressing, especially regarding training and employment for former GAM combatants and conflict victims.

"For example, Article 3.2.6 in the MOU on setting up a commission to resolve long-standing claims has yet to be implemented," Muslahudin said.

Many damage claims submitted by people affected by the conflict have not been effectively resolved due to the absence of such a commission.

Distribution of the re-integration funds by the Aceh Re-Integration Agency (BRA) to former GAM combatants and conflict victims reportedly has been ineffective.

"The BRA has not set criteria for aid recipients, especially for conflict victims who number in the thousands," Muslahudin said. The central government has set aside hundreds of billions of rupiah to support the re-integration process in Aceh. It has so far disbursed Rp 450 billion (US$50 million) to be distributed to conflict victims across the province.

However, representatives of families affected by the conflict say the peace pact remains meaningless without a commission on truth and reconciliation (KKR), as mandated by the MOU.

"We don't intend to open old wounds that would undermine peace in Aceh. However, the government should bring us justice and immediately establish the KKR in Aceh," victims coordinator Ali Zamzami said.

Zamzami said victims would have more faith in the government if it was seen as serious in providing equal rights and justice for them.

Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf, a former GAM leader, said Aceh had become Indonesia's most democratic province after the signing of the peace pact.

"Aceh was the first province to acknowledge independent candidates in the last election as well as the first to recognize local parties," he said.

Separately, European Commission representative Sakura Moreto conveyed the EC's support on the continued peace process begun in Aceh three years ago.

Sakura said the EC had supported conflict resolution and post-tsunami reconstruction from its early stages with than 292 million euros, of which 25 million was earmarked for supporting the peace process.