Light at the End of the Tunnel
The government has retracted its initial objections to GAM demands for local political parties in Aceh, paving the way for an end to conflict in that long-suffering province.
July 19, 2005
THE fifth round of negotiations between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian government in Helsinki, Finland, last weekend produced some optimistic prospects for peace in Aceh.
There is optimism because for the first time, after three decades of taking up arms, GAM will recognize Aceh as a legal part of the Republic of Indonesia. On the part of Jakarta, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Sunday agreed to allow local pol
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