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View all search resultsAceh peace accord leaves a legacy of mutual understanding, dignity
The 2005 Helsinki agreement, which ended almost three decades of armed conflict between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian government, still stands as a reference for how to forge a path to peace between conflicting parties.
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Then-law and human rights minister Hamid Awaludin (left) and the chairman of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) negotiating delegation Malik Mahmud (right) and chairman of the board of the Crisis Management Initiative Finland's Martti Ahtisaari (center) shake hands after signing the peace agreement on Aug. 15, 2005 in Helsinki. The pact aimed at ending nearly three decades of violent conflict in Aceh between GAM and government forces, which claimed almost 15,000 lives. Two previous truces had failed. (AFP/Olivier Morin)
A
n unexpected peace took root 20 years ago, against the backdrop of an unprecedented natural disaster that killed more than 230,000 people across 14 countries, including over 170,000 in Indonesia’s westernmost province.
On Aug. 15, 2005, the government and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) signed a memorandum of understanding in the Finnish capital, also known as the Helsinki peace agreement or the Aceh agreement, ending a nearly 30-year conflict that had claimed over 12,000 lives.
The agreement was a diplomatic breakthrough forged in the wake of unimaginable loss from decades of war, as well as the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. It came following seven months of intense negotiation and cooperation between GAM, the central government and regional actors, and was mediated by former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari.
The pact turned a fragile ceasefire into a lasting peace through disarmament and troop withdrawals, eventually leading to a new self-governance framework for Aceh.
In the two decades since, the Aceh model has been often cited and replicated as a path to peace for other global conflicts from Sri Lanka to Afghanistan, though not always successfully.
The hard-won lessons from Aceh have continued to live on vividly in the memories of those who sat at the negotiating table or observed the peace unfold.
Mutual dignity and respect
