KRUENG GUEKUEH, Indonesia, 23 August 2005 — Some 1,300 Indonesian soldiers yesterday withdrew from Aceh province, the first major step by Indonesia to begin implementing a historic peace deal struck last week with separatist rebels.
Two battalions from the army’s Kostrad strategic reserve, about 1,300 men, left on board a navy ship from Krueng Guekueh port in North Aceh early Monday, military deputy spokesman Ahmad Yani Basuki said.
“The pullout is part of our commitment to the peace agreement,” Basuki said, declining to give details on how many troops were left in the resource-rich province at the northern tip of Sumatra Island.
Indonesia and rebels from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) signed a historic peace pact in Helsinki on Aug. 15, agreeing to end hostilities after a 29-year conflict which has left around 15,000 dead — mostly civilians.
Under the accord, GAM dropped its long-held demand for independence for a form of local self-government and agreed to disarm and demobilize its 3,000 fighters.
Indonesia promised to withdraw its non-local security forces by the end of the year, offer amnesties to rebels and allow the creation of political parties in the province.
About 14,000 military and 7,000 police are expected to remain in Aceh after the pullout is completed. GAM complained shortly after the pact was signed that the figure was too high.
The rebels have also alleged that 10,000 militiamen linked to the military were active in Aceh and had threatened to kill rebels after they disarm under the pact.
Indonesia has in response pledged to protect the rebels. The departing troops were given a farewell ceremony attended by Aceh’s military commander and a member of the Initial Monitoring Presence (IMP), a precursor of the international Aceh Monitoring Mission, Basuki said.
The mission will eventually comprise at least 200 unarmed monitors from the European Union and Southeast Asia, who will oversee the implementation of the pact. Their work officially begins on Sept. 15.
In the provincial capital Banda Aceh, IMP head Pieter Feith held his first round of talks with representatives from the Indonesian government and GAM on the ground to discuss security issues.
“I can report to you the atmosphere of the first meeting was excellent. Both parties expressed full commitment to the implementation of the MOU (memorandum of understanding),” he said, referring to the pact.
Justice Minister Hamid Awaluddin meanwhile said more than 90 percent of nearly 1,500 rebels detained on politically-related charges would be eligible for an amnesty to be announced later this month.
“I stress that those to be given amnesty are political activists who had been sentenced for subversion or faced subversion charges,” he told reporters.
“The number of people jailed for subversion is much larger (than for criminal offences). More than 90 percent,” he added.
A total of 1,472 GAM prisoners were currently in jail, he said. Some 450 other rebels were freed last week to mark Indonesia’s independence day.
The government is to meet a parliamentary commission on Wednesday to explain the amnesty, which must be put in place by Aug. 31.
The commission will then offer details to Parliament, which cannot block the amnesties but must be consulted.
Both sides have been cautiously optimistic that the agreement will open the way for lasting peace, a hope lent renewed urgency after the Dec. 26 tsunami which hit Aceh the hardest, killing at least 131,000 people.
