Aceh monitoring mission - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM), established by the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

according to the Memorandum of Understanding

Memorandum of understanding

A memorandum of understanding is a document describing a bilateral or multilateral agreement between parties. It expresses a convergence of will between the parties, indicating an intended common line of action. It is often used in cases where parties either do not imply a legal commitment or in...

between former Aceh

Aceh

Aceh is a special region of Indonesia, located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. Its full name is Daerah Istimewa Aceh , Nanggroë Aceh Darussalam and Aceh . Past spellings of its name include Acheh, Atjeh and Achin...

nese rebel movement GAM and the Government of Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

on 15 August 2005. The AMM is once of many missions under the EU's European Security and Defence Policy

European Security and Defence Policy

The Common Security and Defence Policy , formerly known as the European Security and Defence Policy , is a major element of the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union and is the domain of EU policy covering defence and military aspects...

.

The Aceh Monitoring Mission, led by Mr Pieter Feith

Pieter Feith

Pieter Cornelis Feith is a Dutch diplomat, formerly serving as the European Union Special Representative and still as the International Civilian Representative in Kosovo.- About :...

from the EU, has been established to monitor the implementation of various aspects of the peace agreement set out in the Memorandum of Understanding

Memorandum of understanding

(MoU) signed by the Government of Indonesia (GoI) and the Free Aceh Movement

Free Aceh Movement

The Free Aceh Movement , also known as the Aceh Sumatra National Liberation Front , was a separatist group seeking independence for the Aceh region of Sumatra from Indonesia. GAM fought against Indonesian government forces in the Aceh Insurgency from 1976 to 2005, costing over 15,000 lives...

(GAM) on 15 August 2005 in Helsinki

Helsinki

Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

, Finland. The European Union, together with five contributing countries from ASEAN (Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, Philippines and Singapore), Norway and Switzerland, are providing monitors for the peace process in Aceh (Indonesia).

Following a brief interim presence (IMP) since the signing of the MoU, the AMM was officially launched on 15 September 2005, covering an initial period of 6 months. It was thereafter been extended until 15 December 2006. The presence of AMM is based on an official invitation from the GoI and with the full support of the leadership of the GAM.

The AMM is undertaking this mission in order to contribute to a peaceful, comprehensive and sustainable solution to the conflict in Aceh

Insurgency in Aceh

The insurgency in Aceh was waged by the Free Aceh Movement between 1976 and 2005 in order to obtain independence from Indonesia. Destruction caused by the armed conflicts and 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake brought a peace deal and an end to the insurgency....

. This has been made all the more important by the terrible tsunami

Tsunami

A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...

disaster of 26 December 2004 and the suffering it inflicted on the Acehnese people. The EU and ASEAN fully respect the territorial integrity of Indonesia and see the future of Aceh as being within the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia. AMM is completely impartial by nature and does not represent or favour any of the parties.

The Head of Mission (HoM) reports to the Council of the European Union through the Political and Security Committee and to Javier Solana, Secretary General/High Representative of the Council of the EU on matters related to the AMM. He will inform the parties, the CMI, and the contributing countries on possible violations of the MoU.

Objectives

The objective of the AMM is to assist the GoI and the GAM in their implementation of the MoU. The AMM will not take on a negotiation role. Should this be needed during the implementation process, it will be the responsibility of the two parties and the original facilitator, i.e. the Chairman of the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI). For the final period of its mandate from 15 September 2006 to 15 December 2006 this will include the following tasks:

investigate and rule on complaints and alleged violations of the Memorandum of Understanding;

establish and maintain liaison and good cooperation with the parties.

As part of the AMM’s tasks the decommissioning of GAM armaments and the relocation of non-organic military and police forces was fully completed on 5 January 2006. In accordance with the MoU the GAM handed over all of its 840 weapons to AMM and on 27 December 2005 it officially disbanded its military wing (TNA). Equally the GoI has fulfilled its commitments by relocating its non-organic military and police. The number of police and military (TNI) forces remaining in Aceh are within the maximum strength of 14.700 for the TNI and 9100 for the police, in accordance with the MoU.

Human rights

The AMM has also monitored the human rights situation, the process of legislative change and the reintegration of GAM members. The Law on the Governing of Aceh was enacted by the National Parliament (DPR) on 11 July 2006 and signed by the President of Indonesia

President of Indonesia

The President of the Republic of Indonesia is the head of state and the head of government of the Republic of Indonesia.The first president was Sukarno and the current president is Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.- Sukarno era :...

on 1 August 2006. Through discussions facilitated by AMM, the parties to the peace process have consensually agreed that there are no disputed amnesty cases under the MoU.

As a response to the positive progress of the peace process and the firm commitment by the parties the AMM will reduce its number of monitors in Aceh. From 15 September 2006 the mission will function in a configuration of 36 monitors. The AMM district offices will be closed down on 11 September 2006. Thereafter, mobile monitoring from Banda Aceh

Banda Aceh

Banda Aceh is the provincial capital and largest city in the province of Aceh, Indonesia, located on the island of Sumatra, with an elevation of 35 meters. The city regency covers an area of 64 square kilometres and according to the 2000 census had a population of 219,070 people...

will be available for deployment throughout Aceh as necessary.

The mission comprises personnel with expertise in the whole range of competencies needed to fulfil the tasks of the mission. AMM is a civilian

Civilian

A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...

and not a military

Military

A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...

mission. Its members do not carry weapons. Some monitors will have a military background as this is necessary to perform certain technical tasks required by the mission. All monitors wear recognisable white shirts with AMM logo. Monitors will conduct their monitoring tasks by patrolling and communicating with both parties, and by carrying out inspections and investigations as required.

Costs

The costs of the mission are financed from the EU budget (EUR 9.3 million) and by contributions of EU Member States and participating countries (EUR 6 million).

External links

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