Jakarta – A number of non-government organisations from the Aceh Working Group (AWG) are urging the Aceh Rehabilitation Agency (BRA) to give greater focus to its task and initial role as mandated in Section 3.2 of the Helsinki Memorandum of Understanding on the stages of the reintegration process.

Chazizah Gusnita, Jakarta – The Aceh Reintegration Agency (BRA) continues to be criticised with its poor performance considered to be threatening the peace process.

Halim Mubary & Armia AM, Bireuen – Thousands of Bireuen residents from the 17 sub-districts that make up the regency, inundated the grounds of the Bireuen Grand Mosque on Thursday May 11 to hold a peaceful action to oversee the Draft Law on Aceh Government (RUU-PA). A similar action was also held in Lhokseumawe.

Banda Aceh – Students from the Aceh Democratic Network (Jaringan Demokrasi Aceh, JDA) opened a coordination post at the Banda Aceh City Park on Tuesday May 9 to guard the Draft Law on Aceh Government (RUU-PA)

Heru Margianto, Jakarta – What are conditions like in Aceh six months after the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian government was signed in Helsinki? The answer – safe but the economic situation is poor say Acehnese.

Rini Kustiani, Jakarta – The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) believes that the national political parties do not want former GAM members to joint them.

Armia AM, Lhokseumawe – As a result of delays in the ratification of the Acehnese version of the Draft Law on Aceh Government (RUU-PA), thousands of university and high-school students in the city of Lhokseumawe held a Aceh Peace action at the North Aceh Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) on Thursday April 6.

Shinta Shinaga, Banda Aceh – The peace process in Aceh has encountered a stumbling stone. Militia groups still exist and recently their level of activity has even been increasing. Added to this is the spread of illegal weapons.

Radzie, Banda Aceh – Civilian activist have launched the Acehnese Peoples Party Preparatory Committee (Komite Persiapan Partai Rakyat Aceh, KP PRA), which represents the precursor for the formation of the first local political party in Aceh.

Radzie, Banda Aceh – As many as 62 Free Aceh Movement (GAM) members detained in a number of correctional institutions in Sumatra have yet to be granted amnesty by the Indonesian government. As a result they are still incarcerated in jail. The tragedy is that several of them have fallen ill.

Anton Aliabbas, Jakarta – There are indications that the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) leadership is actively carrying out anti-government propaganda. Nevertheless, in general the situation in Aceh is favorable.

Rilis, Banda Aceh – A meeting of the Commission for Security Arrangements (COSA) on Saturday February 25 has discussed a number of crucial issues that have taken place in Aceh such as violence against members of the Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM) and the vandalism of the Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA) offices in Blang Pidie, West Aceh.

Yophiandi Kurniawan, Jakarta – The general chairperson of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Megawati Sukarnoputri, is pessimistic that the implementation of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the government and the Free Aceh Movement will be in accordance with expectations.

ST Pramono, Jakarta – An Acehnese member from the Joint Forum of the National and Regional House of Representatives, Ferry Mursyidan Baldan, says that the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) report on the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) must be accompanied by evidence.

Jakarta, Antara – Former Army chief of staff, retired General Tyasno Sudarto, says that the Draft Law on a Government for Aceh or RUU-PA will endanger the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) because it has a number of clauses that lead in the direction of federalism.

Adi W and Radzie, Banda Aceh – Hundreds of students from the Acehnese Alliance of Private Collage Student Executive Councils (Aliansi BEM PTS Aceh) held a demonstration on Wednesday February 1 protesting the central government’s removal of a number of crucial articles in the Draft Law on a Government for Aceh (RUU-PA).

Luhur Hertanto, Jakarta – The government has finally completed compiling the Draft Law on a Government for Aceh and is ready to submit it to the House of Representatives (DPR). President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will today – Wednesday January 25 – study the final draft to prepare a Presidential Instruction (Ampres).

Tedi Hikmah, Jakarta – The non-government organisation Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) has again raised questions about the investigation of gross human rights violations that have taken place in Aceh.

Radzie, Banda Aceh – The earthquake and tsunami at the end of 2004 and the signing of the peace agreement between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in August 2005 has resulted in a drastic decline in the number of human rights violations in Aceh.

Banda Aceh – The commander of the Iskandar Muda Territorial Command, Major General Supiadin AS, says that there are no grounds to extend the presence of the Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM) in Aceh that is planned to end in March 2006.