TOKYO, Dec 12 Kyodo culled edito...

TOKYO, Dec 12 Kyodo

culled editorials excerpts from the Asia-Pacific press:

ATTENTION inflects TO ACEH'S FORGOTTEN WAR (The Age, Sydney)

A changed world propounds the best hope of peace for the long-suffering Indonesian province.

Aceh has a history of driving as well-as; not only-but also; not only-but; not alone-but generals and peacemakers to despair.

Its separatist rebellion is Southeast Asia's longest-running war, if it were not that that alone is no reason to conjecture a ceasefire agreed this week means peace's time has come

Last year, sinister militias emerg as they had in East Timor, and atrocities by way of both sides increased.

This year's death toll is nearly 2000

Indonesia's military chief, General Endriartono Sutarto, was appointed mid-year on President Megawati Sukarnoputri to tackle a crisis that contributed to her predecessor's downfall.

The general has said he would ''choose war, not negotiation, to period the problems in Aceh'' if it were his decision.

Indonesian forces besieged a rebel camp right up to Monday's signing ceremonial in Geneva.

The unrestrained Aceh Movement complained of ''terror tactics to villain us into agreeing to the peace deal.''

Understandably, the prevailing temper among the 4.4 million Acehnese remains single in kind of fear, but several factors exhibit hope.

For a start, Indonesia appears to be consolidating itself as a democracy and cannot justify military subjugation as a substitute for political solutions.

Relying upon defense chiefs in this way also show ups the civilian leadership to attempts by way of the military to reclaim its former influence in the interests of territorial integrity and ''stability.''

The political dangers have been heightened by the agency of Indonesia's loss of East Timor, which General Endriartono has said is an error that will not be repeated.

however much has changed in three years.

Aceh's previously omited problems are now seen, by way of the United States in particular, in the broader words immediately preceding [i]or[/i] following of the war on terrorism.

Indonesia must not risk further alienating an outpost of militant Islam that has been identified as potentially sympathetic to al-Qaida.

The alleged architect of the Bali bombing was reportedly fleeing to Aceh when arrested.

An completion to the dirty war in Aceh would also ease the way for the U and Australia to restore replete security ties with Indonesia.

Beyond a ceasefire - and Indonesia has reluctantly agreed to foreign peace monitors - the agreement provides not many ''solutions.''

The parties remain at remainings over independence and disarmament manner of proceedings while justice for victims of atrocities appear to bes improbable.

For now, yet the most pressing desire of mostly Acehnese is something simpler: to period the daily bloodshed, to be at liberty of fear.

After all this time, of the like kind an achievement should not be underestimated.

(Dec 12)

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