AECH MONITORING MISSION
Letter from Rt Hon Geoff Hoon MP, Minister
for Europe, Foreign and Commonwealth Office to the Chairman
Ian McCartney wrote to you on 4 September 2006[55]
to inform you of plans to extend the Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM)
until 15 December. The European Union Scrutiny committee requested
that I write again, after the Mission's completion, with my assessment
of the outcome of the political process and the Mission's contribution
to it.
PEACE PROCESS
The Helsinki Peace Agreement, signed in August
2005, brought an end to over thirty years of armed conflict. Implementing
the agreement has required significant political commitment on
both sides to deliver on often challenging commitments.
The credibility of the local elections (described
by the EU election observers as `competitive, transparent and
well-administered") is the most obvious sign of the progress
which has been made. This reflects the fact that throughout the
last 18 months, all the parties to the peace agreement have shown
considerable will to overcome practical and political difficulties
and move the peace process forward.
The first step in implementing the peace process
was withdrawal of non-indigenous government forces, with parallel
decommissioning of Free Aceh Movement's (GAM) weapons. This was
completed by the agreed deadline of 31 December 2005. Another
key government achievement was the passage of the Law on the Government
of Aceh, taking forward the undertaking in the peace agreement
to give Aceh authority over most of its public affairs. The government
has fulfilled its undertaking to provide amnesty to GAM prisoners,
and provide reintegration funding to GAM former combatants. It
has undertaken to pass a law in 2007 to allow regional political
parties (currently only parties with a national support based
are allowed to contest elections). GAM has said it will complete
its transformation into a political party within 6 months of this
law being passed. Throughout the process, disputes which arose
were resolved through dialogue, facilitated by the AMM.
CONTRIBUTION OF
AMM
As anticipated, the AMM formally ended its mandate
on 15 December. The AMM played an important role supporting the
peace process. It facilitated regular meetings from regional to
sub-district level between the security forces and GAM representatives,
which contributed toward building trust between the two sides
and in some cases helped to resolve contentious issues. In the
handful of more serious incidents where the AMM had to conduct
an investigation, both sides were prepared to accept, in large
part, the AMM findings. Initial suspicions in the Indonesian parliament
and press about the role of the AMM were largely allayed and the
AMM was praised for its transparency by Indonesian stakeholders
and outside analysts.
This was the first European Security and Defence
Policy (ESDP) mission to monitor a peace agreement, the first
in Asia and the first with the participation of countries from
another organisation, the Association of South East Asian Nations
(ASEAN). It is potentially a model for future ESDP engagement
in the region.
During our Presidency of the EU, the UK played
an important role in securing an early and positive EU response
to the Government of Indonesia's invitation to establish the AMM
and taking forward discussions on the status of the Mission at
extremely short notice. UK support was also vital to the rapid
and credible deployment of the AMM so that it could have an interim
presence on the ground as soon as the peace agreement was signed.
This presence was an important factor in maintaining confidence
on the ground and ensuring that implementation of the peace agreement
started well. UK officials seconded from the FCO and British Embassy
Jakarta played a crucial role in supporting the Head of Mission's
office and the Mission press and communications team.
RISKS
The new governor, Irwandi Yusuf, will need to
build good relations with the central government and win the confidence
of those who still do not fully trust the process. He will also
need to respond credibly to Aceh's other needs, including long-term
reintegration and reconstruction. Although he has little practical
political experience, he played an important role in the peace
negotiations, and since the peace agreement has been GAM representative
on the joint committee (government, GAM and AMM) taking forward
implementation of the peace process. This has given him experience
of negotiating with Jakarta. The AMM found him pragmatic and constructive.
It will be important for the parties to maintain
direct dialogue now that the AMM is no longer facilitating contact,
not least on the implementation of the Law on Aceh Administration
(outstanding areas of dispute include the division of powers between
central and local government and the share of oil and gas revenues
reverting to Aceh). Although the peace process has been very successful
so far, the legacy of mistrust between Acehnese and central government,
built up over decades of conflict, will take time to resolve.
We, and other key international players including
the EU, will stay engaged on Aceh through our Embassy in Jakarta,
to monitor continued progress in implementation of the peace agreement,
and post-conflict reconstruction and peacebuilding.
8 January 2007
55 Correspondence with Ministers, 40th Report of Session
2006-07, HL Paper 187, p 151. Back
| 
