The Collapse of Peace Zones in Aceh.

For the war-weary people of Aceh, Indonesia there was a ray of hope on December 9, 2002; ?peace? became ?a possibility?. After twenty-seven years of bloody violence, the Gerakan Aceh Merdeka (GAM) ? the main warring group in Aceh ? and the Indonesian Government signed an agreement to end hostilities. Unfortunately, the negotiated cease fire only held in the region for the briefest time period before collapsing in May 2003. During that time, however, a number of ?Peace Zones? were established in Aceh, the main purpose of which was to ensure that demilitarisation took place in order to pave the way for humanitarian aid and rehabilitation. Establishing ?zones? to facilitate [among other things] safe disarmament or demobilisation is a common feature of the ending of many violent and protracted conflicts. They are variously named ? safe zones, demilitarised zones, assembly areas, protected zones ? and have been used frequently, but with varying degrees of success. Those set up in Aceh between January and May 2003 can hardly be counted among the successes but a review of their history can be useful. There is much that can be said about and learned from the process and the parties involved in setting up the zones and from the overall peace process itself [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]