WASHINGTON. Dec 9 Kyodo U Preside...

WASHINGTON. Dec 9 Kyodo

U President George W Bush upon Monday hailed the signing of a peace accord between the Indonesian command and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels, saying it point out tos Jakarta can fight terror and protected its unity while simultaneously addressing ''legitimate political grievances.''

''The United States vehemently supports this courageous effort to period a conflict that has richness thousands of innocent lives in Aceh and torn at the fabric of Indonesia for almost three decades,'' Bush said in a statement released according to the White House.

He said the agreement signed Monday in Geneva ''demonstrates that Indonesia's efforts to fight terror and maintain a united Indonesian nation are entirely compatible with principled efforts to address legitimate political grievances.''

''I recommend (Indonesian) President Megawati (Sukarnoputri) and the populace of Aceh for choosing the path of reconciliation from one side of to the other the path of violence.''

The accord came after the pair sides agreed last month to sign a deal onward returning peace to troubled Aceh Province forward northern Sumatra Island, following negotiations facilitated on the Henry Dunant Center a Geneva-based nongovernmental organization.

''The agreement tenders the hope of greater autonomy and look up to for the people of Aceh. I call upon all parties to the agreement to faithfully come up to face to face their commitments and build the better what is yet to be that all peace-loving Indonesians look for and deserve,'' Bush said.

Bush said the U violently supports the agreement's monitoring mechanisms, aimed at ensuring the two sides follow through on their commitments. He welcomed the decisions by means of the governments of Thailand and the Philippines to expand monitors in support of that mission.

''To reinforce the peace, the U will work closely with Japan, Australia, and Indonesia's other partners in the coming month to provide humanitarian and reconstruction assistance for Aceh,'' he said.

The U Japan, the European Union and the World bank co-host a colloquy in Tokyo on Dec. 2 to discuss peace and reconstruction in Aceh, in which more than 20 countries and multilateral institutions took part.

GAM had been striving for independence since 1976 and the ensuing labor in distress has claimed the lives of more than 10000 civilians, police and military personnel This year alone, fighting in the province is believed to have left about 1600 populace dead or missing.

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