Focus Aceh
Following the election of the Governor in Aceh
Former war-torn province on its way to peace consolidation and stability
By Christine Beeck
PDF Version 
(133K)
On 29 December 2006, the national elections commission, the Aceh Independent Elections Commission (KIP), announced the offi cial results of the governor elections in the Indonesian province of Aceh: Irwandi Yusuf, representative of the former rebel movement GAM, which fought for the independence of Aceh in a civil war lasting almost 30 years, emerged as victor. The elections on 11 December 2006, at which the people of Aceh were able to directly elect their governor for the fi rst time, can be regarded as the climax of the peace process in Indonesia to date; a process which began with the signing of the Helsinki Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in August 2005. This BICC Focus analyzes the history of the peace agreement, its provisions and the problems of its implementation, and formulates recommendations for the successful and sustainable implementation of the MoU.
The Helsinki Memorandum of Understanding
After almost 30 years, the Helsinki Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) put an end to the armed conflict between the Government of Indonesia (Gol) and the Free Aceh Movement/Gerakan Aceh Merdeka (GAM) in the north west province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) on 15 August 2005. Various factors made the signing of the MoU possible at the time, under the auspices of the Crisis Management Initiative and the former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari. Among these factors, one should mention fi rst of all the change in the political climate following the election of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as President of Indonesia in October 2004. In addition, worldwide media coverage following the tsunami in December 2004 once again placed the ‘forgotten conflict’ at the center of international interest. After 30 years, the province of Aceh had to open itself up to the world so that aid supplies were able to reach the region.
RSS Feed