 Diplomatic efforts gained steam in easing separatist conflicts Sunday in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, two countries battered by last month's tsunami that has focused international attention on their decades-long insurgencies. Finnish officials confirmed that the Indonesian government and rebels will meet this week in Helsinki to discuss a formal cease-fire in tsunami-ravaged Aceh province, where separatists have been fighting for an independent homeland for nearly 30 years. Finland's Crisis Management Initiative, headed by former President Martti Ahtisaari, confirmed that Indonesian government officials and Aceh rebel leaders would meet this week in Helsinki, but declined to provide more details "due to the delicate nature" of the negotiations. | They'll agree to a cease-fire, and then a holy man will issue a fatwa, and then all hell (i.e., life as usual in Aceh) will break loose. Lather, rinse, repeat. |
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