Japan urges international support for Indonesian peace process

SINGAPORE (AFP): Japan welcomed a groundbreaking agreement between the Indonesian government and rebels to end 30 years of fighting in Aceh province and called on the international community to support the peace process.

Visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura and Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo discussed the latest developments in the peace talks during a meeting here, Japanese foreign ministry spokesman Hatsuhisa Takashima said.

"They agreed that the peace process in Aceh is veryimportant," Takashima told reporters at a news briefing late Tuesday.

"The international community, especially Singapore as a member of ASEAN and Japan as a member of the Asian region and which has a very close relations with Indonesia, should help a lot to promote this peace process in Aceh between the Indonesian government and the GAM."

GAM, or the Free Aceh Movement, has been battling the government in a conflict that has claimed nearly 15,000 lives since 1976.

ASEAN is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations which groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

On Sunday GAM agreed to enter into a peace agreement with the Indonesian government after months of negotiations in Helsinki, Finland, after Jakarta agreed to accommodate a key rebel demand.

GAM also dropped its demand for outright independence but wants the right to create local political parties in Aceh.(*)

The Jakarta Post, 20 July 2005