Peace at last?

last updated 8 January 2015

Banda Aceh, Indonesia

Separatist rebels signed a landmark peace accord with Indonesia this week, ending more than a quarter-century of civil war. The Free Aceh Movement said it would continue its campaign for independence peacefully, at the ballot box. Thousands have been killed in Aceh since it began fighting Jakarta in 1976, and numerous attempts at cease-fires have failed. Both sides hope that this agreement will stick, where others have not, because this time, international donors have promised Aceh millions of dollars in aid if it stops fighting. Negotiations continue, though, over who should control the province’s sizable oil and gas reserves. “There is still a great deal of work to be done,” said chief Indonesian negotiator Wiryono Sastrohandoyo, “before we can say lasting peace has been enshrined.”