PEACE has not yet been reached in Aceh. But the arrival of five foreigners at the Hotel Kuala Tripa, Banda Aceh, last week not only produced hope, but perhaps is the only chance to put an end to the bloody conflict which has raged for years in the region known as the "Veranda of Mecca".

The five are members of the orientation team from the Henry Dunant Center (HDC)—an organization based in Geneva, Switzerland—which for t