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Aceh peace deal set for signing
From Atika Shubert
JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- The Indonesian government and separatist rebels from the Free Aceh Movement have agreed to sign a peace deal next month ending more than two decades of fighting, an international mediator said Tuesday. The two sides are scheduled to sit down December 9 to ink the newly brokered peace agreement, according to a statement from the Henri Dunant Center, mediators in the Aceh conflict. The Switzerland-based center has been mediating the Aceh conflict for more than 2 years. "Last night, the Henri Dunant Center met with leadership of the Free Aceh Movement," the Center said. "We are confident that the government of the Republic of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement are very much committed to reaching an agreement." Andy Andrea, a spokesman for the center, said details such as the location of the peace agreement signing still have to be worked out. The Free Aceh Movement has been fighting for independence from Indonesia for 26 years, despite most of its leadership being exiled to Sweden. Previous attempts at a ceasefire have been unsuccessful. More than 10,000 people have been killed as a result of the conflict. Standoff
The announcement of the imminent peace deal comes as hundreds of Indonesian forces are engaged in a standoff with the bulk of Free Aceh's troops. Government forces have encircled the rebel troops at hillside hideout in the province, demanding their surrender. Aceh, situated on the northern tip of Indonesia's Sumatra island, was once an independent sultanate and has a long history of defiance against outside rule. The province was invaded by Dutch colonialists in 1870, sparking a bitter war of resistance that lasted until the Japanese invasion of the islands in World War II. The Achenese then joined the fight for Indonesian independence from 1940 to 1949 as the Dutch tried to re-establish their colonial rule. However, after independence the new Indonesian government failed to deliver on promises of self-government, re-igniting the separatist rebellion in the early 1950s..
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