SBY 'deserves Nobel Peace Prize'

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 09/28/2006 9:32 AM

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end almost three decades of separatist fighting in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, politicians from the province say.

Yudhoyono is favored by Australian bookmaker Centrebet to receive the prestigious international award this year for his contributions to the peace process in once-restive Aceh.

The President recently gave a general lecture at the Nobel Institute in Oslo, Norway, where the winner of the 2006 prize will be announced on Oct. 13.

Ahmad Farhan Hamid, a National Mandate Party legislator from Aceh, said Yudhoyono worked hard to promote dialog and a humanitarian approach to foster peace in the tsunami-ravaged province.

Following his victory in the 2004 presidential election, Yudhoyono included resolving the Aceh conflict on a list of key issues for his government, Farhan said.

""As the main focus of his 100-day government, the President formed a small task force including national figures and informal leaders to renegotiate with Free Aceh Movement (GAM) leaders both at home and overseas,"" he said.

Farhan said Yudhoyono asked Vice President Jusuf Kalla and the task force to take the initiative to bring the rebel group to the negotiating table in Helsinki, Finland.

Farhan said Yudhoyono evidenced a strong commitment to bringing peace to Aceh when he recruited non-Javanese and non-diplomatic negotiators to represent the government in a series of peace talks with GAM leaders. The effort peaked with the signing of the Helsinki peace agreement on Aug. 15, 2005, under the mediation of former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari.

""Yudhoyono's hard work shows real results with the ongoing establishment of a democratic administration in Aceh,"" said Farhan.

He added that Yudhoyono had spent a lot of time on efforts to end the conflict as security minister under the administration of former president Megawati Soekarnoputri from 2001 to 2004.

Farhan said Kalla and exiled GAM leader Hasan di Tiro should share the Nobel prize with Yudhoyono for their similar contributions to the peace accord.

Support for Yudhoyono's Nobel nomination also came from Democrat Party deputy chairman Ahmad Mubarok.

He said it would be a victory for the nation as a whole if the President, who founded the Democrat Party, won the prize.

It was because of Yudhoyono's labors that peace was finally achieved in Aceh, Mubarok added.

""Yudhoyono brought a new humanist approach, instead of a military and repressive one, to ending the secessionist movement. It appears to have proven effective,"" he said.

Political analyst Fachry Ali concurred, saying a Nobel Prize for Yudhoyono would be a political victory for Indonesia.

""The way the government settled the conflict has also changed the perception of power in Indonesia, from the hierarchical and arrogant style to the humanist one,"" he said.

Fachry said the central government had used a repressive military approach for 24 years to attempt to settle the conflict under former authoritarian leader Soeharto. Reformist regimes continued with that approach for six years, he said, but despite some agreements, they all failed to end the fighting.

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