[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 164 (Sunday, December 18, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H12185-H12186]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H12185]]
                              {time}  1445
 EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING SIGNED BY THE 
   GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA AND THE FREE ACEH MOVEMENT

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree 
to the resolution (H. Res. 456) expressing support for the memorandum 
of understanding signed by the Government of the Republic of Indonesia 
and the Free Aceh Movement on August 15, 2005, to end the conflict in 
Aceh, a province in Sumatra, Indonesia.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 456

       Whereas for three decades there has been a continuous armed 
     conflict in Aceh, a province in Sumatra, Indonesia;
       Whereas violence between the Indonesian military and the 
     Free Aceh Movement has resulted in an estimated 15,000 deaths 
     in the region;
       Whereas the tsunami that occurred on December 26, 2004, 
     killed at least 165,000 people in Aceh and devastated the 
     landscape;
       Whereas after the tsunami both the Government of Indonesia 
     and the Free Aceh Movement recognized that a peaceful 
     settlement of the conflict would have to be reached to enable 
     the rebuilding of Aceh;
       Whereas after months of negotiating through the Crisis 
     Management Initiative chaired by former President Martti 
     Ahtisaari of Finland, the parties agreed to a draft 
     memorandum of understanding to end the conflict in July 2005;
       Whereas Hamid Awaludin, Minister of Law and Human Rights of 
     Indonesia, and Malik Mahmud, of the Free Aceh Movement, 
     signed the final memorandum of understanding on August 15, 
     2005, in Helsinki;
       Whereas the memorandum of understanding provides a 
     timetable for disarmament of the Free Aceh Movement and troop 
     withdrawals by the Indonesian military;
       Whereas the memorandum of understanding provides the people 
     of Aceh with new political powers and the right to retain 70 
     percent of the revenues from certain natural resource 
     extractions from the province;
       Whereas a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and a Human 
     Rights Court will be established for Aceh;
       Whereas the Free Aceh Movement has agreed to forego its 
     demand for independence; and
       Whereas Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has 
     provided amnesty and released hundreds of Free Aceh Movement 
     members being held in prison since the signing of the peace 
     agreement: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) expresses support for the memorandum of understanding 
     signed by the Government of the Republic of Indonesia and the 
     Free Aceh Movement on August 15, 2005, to end the conflict in 
     Aceh, a province in Sumatra, Indonesia, and congratulates 
     both parties for their willingness to compromise;
       (2) expresses the hope that both parties live up to their 
     commitments under the memorandum of understanding and that 
     peace and security can finally be achieved in Aceh after 
     three decades; and
       (3) encourages the Secretary of State and the Administrator 
     of the United States Agency for International Development to 
     commit resources in guaranteeing the peace and building a 
     strong civil society in Aceh.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Latham). Pursuant to the rule, the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) and the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Lantos) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida.


                             General Leave

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend 
their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of House Resolution 456, which 
expresses our support for the memorandum of understanding signed by the 
government of the Republic of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement on 
August 15, 2005.
  For three decades, the province of Aceh in southern Sumatra, 
Indonesia, was the site of armed conflict between the Indonesian 
military and the separatist Free Aceh Movement. That seemingly 
intractable conflict claimed approximately 15,000 lives, including 
those of many innocent civilians.
  The dynamics there changed in an even more tragic way on December 26 
of last year when a massive tsunami devastated the region, killing more 
than 160,000 people in Aceh alone. Overshadowed by the horror of that 
natural disaster, the parties recognized that reconstruction would 
require an end to the civil conflict. For months they worked toward the 
drafting of a memorandum of understanding to end this conflict which 
was completed and signed in late August after the leadership of the 
Free Aceh Movement relinquished their demands for independence.
  The memorandum grants the people of Aceh long-awaited political 
powers and a greater share of the revenues generated by the natural 
resources in the province. It provides for the disarmament of the Free 
Aceh Movement and troop withdrawals by the Indonesian military. I 
commend the Indonesian President for the foresight and the initiative 
that he has shown in this instance, and I hope that it might serve as a 
template for resolving other long-standing conflicts in his great 
nation.
  We share the hopes of the people of Aceh for peace, reconstruction 
and the development of a civil society in their province. This 
resolution is a timely show of our support for the peace process. The 
resolution deserves our unanimous support.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, 
and I rise in strong support of this resolution.
  I first would like to commend my distinguished colleague and good 
friend from New York (Mr. Crowley), a key member of the International 
Relations Committee, for introducing this important measure related to 
Indonesia.
  Mr. Speaker, the Indonesian province of Aceh has known great sadness 
and tragedy for decades. A long-simmering civil war between the Free 
Aceh Movement and the Indonesian military took the lives of over 15,000 
innocent civilians over the past 30 years.
  Tragically, the December 2004 tsunami struck Aceh very hard. At least 
165,000 men, women and children of this region of Sumatra were killed 
as a result of that horrendous natural disaster. The province was 
utterly devastated.
  A year after the tsunami, Mr. Speaker, hundreds of thousands of 
Acehnese are still struggling to rebuild their lives and their homes, a 
process that will take many more years to complete and in thousands of 
instances will never be completed.
  It is perhaps due to this great human devastation that the leaders of 
the Free Aceh Movement and the Indonesian government intensified their 
efforts to work out a solution to the civil war in that part of 
Sumatra. The devastation wrought by the tsunami allowed all parties to 
put their differences in perspective and to concentrate on negotiating 
a peace deal that was so desperately desired by most Acehnese.
  If I might digress for a moment, long before I joined Congress I 
visited Sumatra, and I was impressed by the quality of the 
extraordinary people of this very important island. It has been a 
tragedy that the central government and the people of Aceh have not 
been able to agree until now on a satisfactory modus vivendi.
  Now we have an agreement between the rebels and the government signed 
in August of this year, and this is a very positive development. It is 
also a testament to the staying power of the Finnish negotiators, led 
by our good friend, the former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, who 
brought the parties together.
  I urge all of my colleagues to support this important resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he might consume to the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley), the distinguished author of this 
legislation.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague from 
California (Mr. Lantos), the ranking member of our committee and the 
International Relations Committee, for yielding me this time.
  I rise in strong support of House Resolution 456, which expresses 
support for the memorandum of understanding signed by the government of 
Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement, a document that was signed on 
August 15 of this year that will end the conflict in

[[Page H12186]]

Aceh, a province in Sumatra, Indonesia.
  Before I discuss the merits of this resolution, I would like to thank 
my colleagues who have joined me in support of this resolution, in 
particular the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott), the gentleman 
from Indiana (Mr. Burton) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Wexler).
  Aceh was brought to my attention in the year 2000 by one of my 
constituents, Jafar Siddiq Hamzah, a human rights lawyer from Aceh. Mr. 
Jafar told me about the abysmal human rights record of the Indonesian 
military and others throughout the province of Aceh. Upon his return to 
Aceh in August of 2000, not long after we met, Mr. Jafar was abducted 
in Medan, tortured for several weeks, and found mutilated in a mass 
grave in the fall of 2000. Cases like Mr. Jafar's happened too often 
and motivated me to push for an end to his 3-decade-long conflict that 
he so much wanted to see ended, that took over 15,000 Aceh lives.
  This resolution expresses support for the peace agreement signed on 
August 15 of this year by the Free Aceh Movement and the government of 
Indonesia. This agreement saw both sides making several concessions in 
order to broker this peace.
  The Free Aceh Movement has abandoned its demands for independence and 
has agreed to disarm. On the other side, the government of Indonesia 
has granted amnesty for the Free Aceh prisoners and has agreed to a 
timeline of troop withdrawal.
  The memorandum has also given the people of Aceh new political powers 
that will allow them to retain 70 percent of the revenue from the 
natural resources of their province.
  A truth and reconciliation commission and a human rights court will 
also be established, giving the people the machinery for justice, as 
well as for peace.
  The considerable compromises that both sides made in this memorandum 
of understanding shows their willingness to secure peace for the 
citizens of Indonesia and Aceh.
  This resolution acknowledges and expresses support for the memorandum 
signed by the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement. This 
resolution further expresses hope that both parties will fulfill their 
commitments so that peace will be instilled in the region.
  Lastly, and perhaps most significantly, this resolution encourages 
the Secretary of State and the Administrator for the United States 
Agency for International Development to commit resources so that peace 
can be supported and so that peace will endure.
  I support this resolution to show the people of Aceh and the 
government of Indonesia that the U.S. Congress supports this progress 
as well.
  Lastly, as my good colleague from California mentioned, the 
devastation of the tsunami, the tsunami that took so many, many lives, 
perhaps that tsunami did take many lives and we know it did. This peace 
accord will ensure, if carried through, that many, many more people 
within Aceh will not lose their lives, and for that, Mr. Speaker, I ask 
all my colleagues to support this worthy resolution.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, we have no additional requests for time, and 
I yield back the balance of our time.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I also have no further requests for 
time, and I yield back the balance of our time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) that the House suspend the 
rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 456.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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