Helsinki Agreement and Power Sharing in Aceh

The Central Government’s approach to the Aceh conflict has shifted from the use of top-down security approaches to the devolution of economic and political power to the region. Through the signing of the Helsinki Agreement, both Jakarta and GAM compromised their interests to end the conflict. The Law on Governing of Aceh (LoGA) and the MoU provide a strong framework for addressing many of the centre-periphery issues. In fact, the situation in Aceh is relatively peaceful almost six years after the signing of the MoU. Basically, the goal of peace building process is to generate agreement and outcomes that are acceptable to all conflicting parties with a minimum of compromise. This book examines the compromises of the interests between GAM and Jakarta particularly in the context of power-sharing arrangements provided by the Helsinki Agreement. This book also finds out that the ability of the local government is significant to ensure the power-sharing arrangements provided by the Helsinki Agreement implemented properly. The issues of accountability and transparency become challenges to all parties to ensure the stability of the peace process.