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Boundary Demarcation: MoU between the Government of the Republic of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement

Implementations

Boundary Demarcation – 2005

Consultation occurred on the drafting of an autonomy bill which defined the border of Aceh as starting in mid-September. Three universities in Band Aceh worked on draft bills and the drafts were merged into a single document in December, which then was submitted to the provincial legislature. The Provincial legislature then formed an 18 member special committee to further refine the draft. The draft law recognizes the border of Aceh as of 1 July 1956.¹

“Aceh: So Far, So Good,” International Crisis Group, Asia Briefing N°44, December 13, 2005.

Boundary Demarcation – 2006

The Aceh governance law that was ratified by the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) on 11 July 2006, clearly defined the boundaries of the province, as stipulated in the Memorandum of Understanding of 2005.¹ The law received presidential assent on 11 November 2006 and went into effect. Article 3 of the law defines border of Aceh region as (a) towards the north is bordered by Malacca Strait; (b) towards the south is bordered by North Sumatra Province; (c) towards the east is bordered by Malacca Strait; and (d) towards the west is bordered by Indonesian Ocean. Demarcation of border of Aceh was consistent with the borders of Aceh as of 1 July 1956.

“Indonesian media reacts to passing of Aceh governance law,” BBC Monitoring, July 12, 2006.

Boundary Demarcation – 2007

Boundary demarcation provision of the MoU was implemented in 2006. No further development reported related to this particular issue.

Boundary Demarcation – 2008

While boundaries of Aceh were clearly defined in a law in 2006, a political movement was started in 2008 that called for the formation of new provinces in the central region and the south of Aceh.¹ In August, governor of Aceh ruled out possibility of any break away of regions.²

‘Breakaway bids test Aceh’s post-tsunami peace deal,” Christian Science Monitor, March 13, 2008.
“Governor of Indonesia’s Aceh rules out possibility of regions breaking away,” BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific, August 7, 2008.