Aceh Rebel Army Disbands

The tsunami last year destroyed the Indonesian province of Aceh, killing thousands. The hackneyed adage about clouds having silver linings, however, seems apt. Having fought the central government for 30 year or so, “The Acehnese national army, or the armed wing of the Free Aceh Movement, has demobilized and disbanded,” according to its former deputy leader.

The rights and wrongs of the rebellion were washed away on December 26, 2004, along with 131,000 people who lived in the province. Mother Nature having smacked both parties in the heads, some sense was knocked into both sides. The rebels couldn’t justify a war against a government committed to rebuilding the province since they claimed to want to improve the lives of the locals. The Jakarta government couldn’t rebuild, the only avenue open by which it could retain the province, if the rebels kept shooting.

So, in Finland of all unlikely places, the two sides signed a peace agreement on August 15, 2005. Under the treaty terms, the government pulled out about 24,000 troops from the potentially wealthy region (it’s sitting on quite a bit of oil and natural gas). The rebels agreed to hand in their 840 firearms. In the end, they gave up 1,018 guns earlier this month; about 178 were too old to qualify but the 840 number was still reached.

The region still isn’t out of the woods politically any more than it is environmentally and economically. The central government has to pass a law now allowing the former rebels to form a political party and providing the provincial government with 70% of the petro-dollars. There is a March 15 deadline for provincial elections.

As Christmas presents go, though, this is a pretty good one. A part of the world that Planet Earth itself tried to annihilate may not only get rebuilt, but the ballot has replaced the bullet. If everyone keeps his word and his head, 2006 could be a good year for everyone in Aceh, and the rest of Indonesia.

© Copyright 2005 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.
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