 FOREIGN Minister Alexander Downer predicts a more peaceful Aceh will be a by-product of Australia's $1 billion aid package to Indonesia The war-torn Indonesian province will receive the bulk of Australia's aid in the wake of the December 26 tsunami that has killed up to 100,000 Indonesians. Australia rose to the top of the donor nation list after unveiling a $1 billion package of grants and long-term, interest-free loans to its neighbour. The funds — to be administered by a bilateral commission headed by Prime Minister John Howard and Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono — will be used for both short and long-term reconstruction in Indonesia. Mr Downer told ABC TV he believed the donation would help to build peace in a region where rebels have been fighting for decades for a separate Aceh state.
| I doubt it. Too many turbans. The hard boyz want to gnaw off their own little bit of shariah heaven. He's thinking the locals are driven by reason, not by Mecca... |
The Free Aceh Movement has been fighting for independence since 1976, and the Indonesian Government stepped up its military suppression efforts with a massive operation that began in May 2003. There have been widespread hopes the tsunami disaster will lead to a breakthrough in ending the conflict. Mr Downer said the catalyst for an improved situation would be a positive response from the Acehnese to the way the Indonesian government had handled the tsunami catastrophe. "I very much hope the effectiveness of Indonesia's response, the Jakarta government's response in Aceh, obviously massively supported by us and the US and others, will be very well received by the Acehnese people," he said. "It might not be very well received by the leaders of GAM (Free Aceh Movement), perhaps nothing would please them, but for the generality of the population in Aceh, I think it is very likely they will respond positively. That is going to be very important in terms of creating a more peaceful environment in Aceh." |