Ati Nurbaiti, Banda Aceh – Hasan Tiro, the supreme leader of the former separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM), cited Sunday a string of heroes from Aceh's past in his appeal for his fellow Acehnese, including former rebels, to work for peace.
His message and visit also left little doubt for Acehnese that Hasan was personally committed to the peace agreement which ended GAM's earlier target of independence, an observer said.
The message on the second day of his visit to his homeland, the first in almost 30 years, was delivered in Indrapuri district, a former GAM stronghold some 25 kilometers east of the provincial capital of Banda Aceh.
Hasan, now a Swedish citizen, was paying his respects to the grave of Cik di Tiro, his great-grandfather and a national hero in Indonesia's fight for independence.
In a speech in Acehnese read by one of his trusted aides in front of the grave, Hasan cited nationally renowned figures, including Teuku Umar, Laksamana Malahayati and Sultan Iskandar Muda. The location of the grave itself is in the former territory of Kutaraja, the Aceh sultanate and "last fort of resistance" against Dutch rule, Hasan said.
The Acehnese are proud of their legendary resistance against occupying forces, with the province recorded as the last area in Indonesia to surrender to the Dutch.
Earlier on Sunday, Hasan prayed briefly at the graves of Iskandar Muda and respected ulema Syech Abdul Rauf Singkili, at the seaside Syiah Kuala cemetery.
The village of Meure where the grave of Cik di Tiro is located is now a peaceful-looking village of bamboo and wooden homes on stilts near green paddy fields, without the previously numerous military posts dotting the area leading to the GAM base. The base was used during military operations prior to the 2005 Helsinki peace accord.
Though Hasan had conveyed a similar call to maintain the peace at Baiturrahman Mosque in Banda Aceh on Saturday, Sunday's message, an observer in the audience said, reemphasized the value of the satria or warrior, "who is dauntless in war, but even more courageous in peace".
The audience members included several former combatants from Indrapuri and other areas, as well as those who now reside in various countries.
The observer, Ramli Daly, said Hasan's visit and statements added to people's confidence of his personal commitment to the peace process, and that he had agreed to the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Indonesian government and GAM.
"Hasan was not among the signatories of the Helsinki agreement," said Ramli, formerly in charge of historical documentation under the provincial administration. "So there were doubts that perhaps it was all the result of collusion (between the Acehnese and the Indonesian elite," he said.
After the speech, read by Malik Mahmud, who signed the MOU on behalf of GAM, Hasan left the decorated tent to enjoy lunch nearby. He ate rice and gulai Aceh meat curry and vegetable soup with his favorite beverage of Coca-Cola, witnesses said.
More than 30 cows had been slaughtered for the feast, villagers said. Several vendors profited by selling iced drinks, boiled peanuts and other snacks.