- I applaud the parties for taking this courageous step towards peace in Aceh. It is extremely important that the international community now supports the parties in their determination to achieve lasting peace in Aceh, said Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Petersen in a comment on the signing of the peace treaty between the Indonesian authorities and the Free Aceh Movement, GAM, in Helsinki yesterday.

- I would also like to give credit to the efforts made by Martti Ahtisaari, the former president of Finland, and the people who have helped him in the negotiations between the parties to the conflict, Mr Petersen added.

A special observer force made up of personnel from the EU, ASEAN, Norway and Switzerland will play a key part in the implementation of the agreement. It is planned that the force will number around 220 persons and will be operational from the middle of September. The mandate is to monitor the implementation of the peace agreement and includes tasks relating to the monitoring of human rights and the disarmament of GAM.

A Norwegian vanguard is already in position in Aceh to plan the deployment of the observer force. Norway will also provide 10 of the members of the main observer force. The force will be a purely civilian operation but many of the members will have military expertise. The members of the force will not bear uniform or weapons. The Indonesian authorities will be responsible for the observers’ security.