[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 456 Engrossed in House (EH)]
H. Res. 456
In the House of Representatives, U.S.,
December 18, 2005.
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.
Attest:
Clerk.