Peace agreement between Indonesian Government and Free Aceh Movement was signed
The signing of the memorandum of understanding was also witnessed by Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, British Ambassador Matthew Kirk, representing the EU Presidency, Aldo Dell'Ariccia of the European Commission and representatives of ASEAN countries.
Indonesian Minister of Law and Human Rights Hamid Awaludin said that today's peace agreement was above all about human dignity and was achieved because violence should be ended and human life should be valued. "We are not here today for a celebration for any party", he said. Awaludin also stressed the importance of the two sides coming together. "The conflict between them and us must be deleted".
"The struggle that we have waged for these many years has been to achieve justice for the people of Aceh", said Malik Mahmud, Chairman of the GAM negotiating delegation. "There has been no peace in Aceh because there has been no justice in Aceh." The freedom movement hopes that the peace agreement will bring justice by introducing freedom of speech and full participation as well as representation in the political system. Mahmud remained, however, concerned over the continuing presence of local militias in Aceh despite the signing of the peace agreement and hoped that the international community would voice its opposition to this.
Foreign Minister Tuomioja praised the negotiation process which was completed successfully by the signing of the peace agreement. "I am very impressed by the willing of both parties to tackle difficult and sensitive issues in an amicable manner", he said.