[nasional_list] [ppiindia] Tsunami triggered the peace, SBY reaps the rewards
- From: "Ambon" <sea@xxxxxxxxxx>
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- Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2006 04:06:40 +0200
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**http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailheadlines.asp?fileid=20060915.A05&irec=4
Tsunami triggered the peace, SBY reaps the rewards
Kornelius Purba, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
As a former Army general, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) could have
quoted the legendary "I shall return" remark of U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur
when asked in Oslo about his chances of winning the Nobel Peace Prize later
this year. Meaning he shall return to Oslo on Dec. 10, the day the Nobel Peace
Prize is presented to the winner.
However, during his public appearances at the office of Norwegian Prime
Minister Jens Stoltenberg and at the Nobel Institute on Wednesday, Yudhoyono
portrayed himself more as a Javanese. He said he had no ambition to win the
prestigious prize and that other people deserved the award more than him. His
aides described the President's visit to Norway simply as being for bilateral
talks.
"I would be humbled to be nominated ... but my focus, my task and my work is
now ensuring that the ongoing peace process in Aceh is moving well," Yudhoyono
told reporters.
Isn't that just very Javanese?
"Many people, many sides have contributed to the ending (of the) conflict, I
have to admit that. The credit must be given to all parties, to everybody (who
has been) part of this peace process ... on both sides."
For many Indonesians, Vice President Jusuf Kalla is just as deserving of the
prize, because it was Kalla rather than the President who was most intensively
involved in the tiring peace negotiations. In private conversations, Kalla has
reportedly indicated his disquietude that the President is internationally more
recognized as the Aceh peacemaker. But that is the risk carried by a vice
president; being very close to power but in fact having no power at all.
Leaders of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) have no chance for the prize, because
for years GAM was involved in a war with the Indonesian government.
Precisely one month before the Nobel Committee announces the winner of this
year's Peace Prize on Oct. 13, Yudhoyono clearly was campaigning for the prize
in Oslo. But who wouldn't be given the chance?
It's not only peace lovers who like Yudhoyono's chances. There is another, more
convincing supporter. Australian online bookmaker Centrebet has tipped
Yudhoyono as the most likely winner at 4-1 odds, ahead of former Finnish
president Martti Ahtisaari who mediated the Aceh peace talks.
If the Australian bookmaker is correct, Yudhoyono would be the second
Indonesian citizen to win the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1996, or three years before
the people of East Timor voted to break away from Indonesia, East Timor Bishop
Carlos Filipe Ximenes Bello and Ramos Horta, the current prime minister of
Timor Leste, as East Timor is now called, were the co-winners of the Nobel
Peace Prize. Bello flew to Oslo 10 years ago to accept the award carrying an
Indonesian passport.
At the time Bello and Horta's victory was seen as a slap in the face of
president Soeharto. They won it because of their peaceful efforts to end
Indonesia's occupation of East Timor and the suffering of the East Timorese
from rampant human rights violations.
When Soeharto and his Cabinet members met the bishop several days after the
announcement of the award, they pretended not to know anything about it. Only
the Indonesian armed forces chief, Gen. Feisal Tanjung, congratulated Bello.
Indonesian writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer was regularly tipped to win the Nobel
Prize for Literature, but it was not to be and the famous author died this
April. Pramoedya's literary works are internationally recognized, but his
imprisonment without trial by the Soeharto regime and the brutal treatment he
endured during his detention were just as responsible for his international
fame.
For nearly three decades war ripped apart Aceh. The Acehnese accused the
central government, from the administration of first president Sukarno all the
way through to Yudhoyono's predecessor, Megawati Soekarnoputri, of betraying
their loyalty to Indonesia since the country gained independence in 1945.
After months of negotiations between Kalla's team and GAM, mediated by
Ahtisaari and his Crisis Management Initiative, the two sides agreed to end the
conflict. They sealed a peace accord on Aug. 15, 2005, ending a conflict that
had claimed some 15,000 lives since 1976.
Both Yudhoyono and Kalla deserve international praise for their commitment to
peace in Aceh. However, with no intention of belittling their dedication, we
should not forget it was the tsunami that devastated Aceh on Dec. 26, 2004,
which served as the most important trigger for peace. After more than 150,000
Acehnese were killed by the tsunami, both sides realized they had no other
choice but to work together to rebuild the province.
Though it brought so much pain and suffering, the tsunami should be recognized
for helping to bring about peace in Aceh. Nature succeeded in forcing the
warring parties to embrace peace, but it is Yudhoyono (Kalla is also deserving)
who has the chance to reap the fame.
The writer can be reached at purba@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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