Kalla Suggests Mutual Understanding to Solve Aceh Internal Conflict

Kuala Lumpur - Former vice president Jusuf M Kalla has said mutual understanding and participation of all parties are needed to help solve the ongoing internal conflict concerning the implementation of regional head elections in Aceh. "All factions in Aceh must enforce democracy and solve the problems through dialogs," Kalla said here on Tuesday on the sidelines of a conference on "Global Movement of Moderates". He said that outsiders did not interfere in the current internal conflict in Aceh, as the conflict involved the political elites in Aceh. Therefore, political dialog was needed to help solve the problem, he added. "Without mutual understanding, it will be difficult to solve the problem currently going on in Aceh," he said. Meanwhile, Azyumardi Azra, a political observer, urged former members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) quarreling about the upcoming regional head elections in Aceh, to make peace in order to avoid local inhabitants to become victims. "We could not expect the central government to solve the problem. What is needed now is the willingness of (Aceh Governor) Irwandi Yusuf and the Aceh Party to make peace," Azra, former rector of Syarif Hidayatullah Islamic University, said. Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court (MK) in Jakarta, Tuesday (Jan 17) issued a preliminary ruling ordering the reopening of candidates registration for Aceh's simultaneous regional chief elections for a period of seven days. "The reopening of the registration process, including the verification and official announcement stages, is meant to give a chance to new candidates to register. They may be proposed by a political party or a coalition of political parties, or run as independent candidates. The reopening shall last seven days since this preliminary ruling is announced," MK Chairman Mahfud MD said at a hearing.