Like many people in Indonesia's war-torn Aceh province, Kak Cut is yearning for peace. Members of her family have been kidnapped, imprisoned and left for dead during the decades-long conflict that has claimed nearly 15,000 lives.
Still, she and others have some doubts that an agreement being signed tomorrow in Helsinki, Finland, by government officials and separatists will bring a permanent end to fighting in the tsunami-battered province. For now, all they can do is hope.
There were positive signs, however, with some Indonesian security forces already packing their bags to leave. But some rebels, worried about their safety, were keeping a very low profile.
Previous deals have collapsed, the most recent two years ago when both sides accused the other of violations. The military kicked out foreign observers, declared martial law, arrested rebel negotiators and mounted an offensive in which thousands died.
"I'll be really sad if this agreement is just a game," said Oki Rahmatan Tiba, the 21-year-old son of one of the jailed negotiators, Sofyan Tiba, who drowned when the Dec. 26 tsunami crashed into Banda Aceh, sweeping away everything in its path, including the main prison.
Ironically, it was the same mammoth waves that killed his father and more than 131,000 others in Aceh, leaving a half-million homeless and destroying much of the province's infrastructure, that brought the warring factions back to the negotiating table.
Oki Tiba watched the developments unfold with a mixture of happiness and sorrow: A peace deal had been reached, but his father was not around to see it. Nor would he be one of the hundreds of political prisoners released as part of an amnesty deal.
But many things were different this time, he and others said.
The government and the rebels realized that a successful peace agreement could smooth the way for a US$5 billion reconstruction effort in the province. In addition to roads, bridges and schools, that would mean investment.
"This is what we've been waiting for," said Kat Cut, 50, who was at home with her children when the tsunami struck. "We want to rebuild our lives."
She and her family were lucky, fleeing to the hills as walls of water crashed into their house. But they lost everything they owned and are now living in a camp with other survivors.
During five rounds of peace talks, which wrapped up last month in Helsinki, both government negotiators and leaders of the Free Aceh Movement -- known as GAM -- made major concessions.
The rebels, who in 29 years of fighting never budged from their demand for independence, did an about-face, agreeing to remain part of Indonesia and to hand over their weapons.
In return, the government offered them amnesty, land, jobs, and, most importantly, political representation. It will also pull tens of thousands of soldiers and police from the province, another key rebel demand, by the year's end.
More than 750 military police were preparing to leave for Java by boat yesterday.
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