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Aceh Peace Monitoring Team To Be Placed in 15 Posts
Friday, 29 July, 2005 | 19:25 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:A monitoring team in Aceh from the European Union (EU) and ASEAN is to be placed in 15 posts in Aceh.

Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander General Endriartono Sutarto made this statement after meeting with Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono on Thursday (28/07).

Sutarto also said that the team itself would determine where its members were to be assigned.

“They will monitor, observe the situation and determine the places where they will be assigned,” said the TNI Commander after the meeting.

The division of the team and the post numbers will be discussed by Sutarto and the monitoring team from ASEAN on Friday (29/07).

After carrying out their duties, the monitoring team would not be accompanied by TNI personnel.

They will arrive in Aceh starting from August 16.
Minister of Communication and Information Sofyan Djalil said that the monitoring team would consist of 300 people made up of civilians and unarmed military personnel.

According to a TEMPO source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the team will be divided into groups to deal with mobilization, arms destruction, reintegration as well as a group handle political participation and legal settlement.

According to Arif Havas, Director for Political, Security and Regional Agreements at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the monitoring team shall also include lawyers from the EU and ASEAN.

“Their status will basically be like a company’s technical employees,” said Havas.

Regarding the number of troops to be withdrawn from Aceh, Gen. Sutarto declined to comment.

He only said that all non-organic troops would be withdrawn from Aceh. (Sunariah-Tempo News Room)