Jakarta-rebel deal on Aceh

By P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE, MAY 13. The Indonesian Government has signed a formal agreement with the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) at Davos in Switzerland to bring about what is being officially described as a humanitarian pause in the prolonged conflict between the two sides. The pause could, in effect, serve as a ceasefire.

Under the accord, at least two joint committees would be set up. One of them would deal with humanitarian aid to the victims of the conflict as also the people of the trouble-prone but resources-rich province, it was hinted by the Indonesian side after the signing had taken place late last night (Jakarta time). The other panel would evaluate `security modalities' aimed at halting the military offensive against the rebels and reducing tension in that territory.

The President, Mr. Abdurrahman Wahid, had said in Jakarta, shortly before the `in-camera' signing at an undisclosed venue at Davos, that the memorandum of understanding should not be seen as a step towards a recognition of GAM or the granting of independence to the Aceh province.

In Aceh itself, a joint military-civilian tribunal today intensified the trial of some armed forces personnel on charges of having killed unarmed people at a school there last year. While the prosecutors today sought jail terms for the accused in the event of their conviction, human rights activists demanded a stiffer sentence.

Roiting in Jakarta

Violence has broken out on the streets of Jakarta once again after a lull for some time. While university students clashed with security personnel yesterday as they took out a rally calling for the trial of the former President, Gen. Suharto, rioting took place in another part of the capital today. Damage to property was reported and several protestors and police personnel were said to have been injured.

Today's flare-up in a city business district was a sequel to a police raid on retailers suspected of video piracy. Yesterday's unrest, marking the second anniversary of the deaths of students in the anti-Suharto protests of 1998, was political in complexion. Clashes broke out yesterday even as a representative of the students was engaged in a dialogue with a security official, according to one version.

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Section  : International
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