VZCZCXRO1675
PP RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #0785/01 1090949
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 180949Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8748
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHHE/AMEMBASSY HELSINKI 0918
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2367
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE 3393
RUEHSM/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM 2078
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHHMUNA/USCINCPAC HONOLULU HI
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 000785 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
AIDAC 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MTS, INR/EAP 
DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS AID 
USAID FOR ANE/EAA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL ECON SOCI ID
SUBJECT: Third Aceh CoSPA Meeting Delves into Details 
 
REF: JAKARTA 445 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary. The third meeting of the Committee on Sustaining 
Peace in Aceh (CoSPA) was held in Banda Aceh on April 16, 2008. 
Issues discussed included security in Aceh, progress on establishing 
a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and the status of a Human 
Rights Court to try cases from the conflict. End Summary. 
 
The CoSPA 
--------- 
¶2.  (SBU) The Committee on Sustaining Peace in Aceh, or CoSPA, was 
formed in early 2008 and has held monthly meetings starting in 
February of 2008. The Committee is designed to bring together 
stakeholders in the peace process and create a forum to discuss the 
parts of the 2005 Helsinki MOU yet to be implemented and also 
discuss any threats to the peace process including the security 
situation. Core CoSPA members include representatives of the 
national government in the form of the Forum for Communication and 
Coordination (FKK) lead by General Amiruddin Usman and reporting to 
the Ministry of Politics and Security, GAM movement representatives, 
the Aceh provincial government, the Indonesian military, the 
National Police, and international observers from the United States 
and the EU. While GAM members associated with Governor Irwandi Yusuf 
have been supportive of the CoSPA, the official GAM organization 
continues to boycott the process. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The CoSPA meeting held on April 16 focused on recent 
violence against GAM/KPA members, the establishment of a Truth and 
Reconciliation Commission for Aceh, and progress on establishing a 
Human Rights Court for Aceh to try cases from the conflict. Vice 
Governor Muhammad Nazar represented the Aceh Provincial Government. 
The FKK delegation was lead by Zainal Arifin. The main spokesmen for 
GAM were Munawar Liza (now Mayor of Sabang) and Nur Djuli (head of 
the BRA or Aceh Reintegration Body), both Helsinki MOU negotiators. 
 
GAM Wary of Security Response to Violence 
----------------------------------------- 
¶4.  (SBU) GAM and FKK representatives discussed a joint site visit 
in the wake of the Atu Lintang case from March, 2008 (reftel) that 
resulted in the killings of five KPA personnel in a local KPA office 
near the city of Takengon in Central Aceh Regency. GAM 
representatives pointed out that the local police station was 
located only 50 meters from the KPA office where the killings took 
place. GAM also disavowed rumors of KPA recruitment in the area that 
may have stirred up the locals. FKK representatives accepted the 
request to follow up with local police on behalf of GAM and to 
provide future details as per their investigation into the 
incident. 
 
Slow Going on Truth and Reconciliation Commission 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
¶5.  (SBU) CoSPA technical staff presented the current status of a 
Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The continuing challenge in 
establishing the KKR remains that the national parliament has yet to 
pass enabling legislation consistent with the Indonesian 
constitution, stymieing any local efforts in Aceh. The December, 
2006 Constitutional Court ruling striking down previous legislation 
on a KKR remains the main stumbling block. Aceh Vice Governor Nazar 
and Aceh Parliament Head H. Sayed Faud Zakaria spoke privately about 
the importance of keeping the provincial legislative process for the 
KKR on track. Both GAM and FKK representatives emphasized that it is 
premature for any local initiatives to establish an Aceh-only KKR 
and stressed the need for any local action to follow new national 
enabling legislation. 
 
Legal Obstacles to Human Rights Court Remain 
-------------------------------------------- 
¶6.  (SBU) CoSPA meeting participants also agreed that before being 
able to establish a Human Rights Court in or for Aceh, the Ministry 
of Law and Human Rights should ask the Indonesian Supreme Court for 
a legal clarification that would allow the establishment of a Human 
Rights Court in Aceh that would remain within the jurisdiction of 
the Human Rights Court in Medan. GAM representatives repeatedly 
stressed that they had no objection to the Medan Human Rights 
Court's retaining jurisdiction in the Aceh cases or trying said 
cases in Medan rather than in Banda Aceh. They added that the 
question of a Human Rights Court "in" Aceh, as distinct from "for" 
 
JAKARTA 00000785  002 OF 002 
 
 
Aceh, a point FKK delegation head Zainal Arifin had raised due to 
conflicting language between the Helsinki MOU and current Indonesian 
law, was not an issue for GAM. 
 
CoSPA Process Still in Infancy 
------------------------------ 
¶7.  (SBU) The CoSPA's third meeting represents a step forward in 
institutionalizing the peace process among stakeholders in Aceh.  It 
has also demonstrated its value in defusing tension after the Atu 
Lintang killings (reftel) by providing a forum for joint action to 
ease suspicions. The CoSPA is still impaired by the boycott of the 
GAM faction not supportive of Governor Irwandi Yusuf, a decision 
based in large part on internal conflicts among senior GAM members. 
While the adjutant of Aceh military commander Major General Supiadin 
AS was present at the meeting, representatives from the National 
Police, who had attended earlier CoSPA meetings, were absent on 
April 16. The CoSPA process also remains threatened by competing 
attempts by NGOs in Aceh to create a duplicate forum for discussing 
the outstanding items from the Helsinki MOU. The presence of the 
Vice Governor, a judge from Aceh's High Court, and the head of the 
Provincial Legislature were, however, encouraging signs of 
acceptance of the CoSPA among many of Aceh's decision makers. 
 
HUME