IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 238 

Commending the first democratic elections in Aceh, a province in Sumatra, 

Indonesia, and expressing support for the further democratic development 

and implementation of the Helsinki Memorandum of Understanding. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 12, 2007 

Mr. CROWLEY (for himself, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. WEXLER, and Mr. BURTON

of Indiana) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Commending the first democratic elections in Aceh, a province in Sumatra, Indonesia, and expressing support for 

the further democratic development and implementation 

of the Helsinki Memorandum of Understanding. 

Whereas for three decades there has been a continuous armed 

conflict in Aceh, a province in Sumatra, Indonesia; 

Whereas violence between the Indonesian military and the 

Free Aceh Movement has resulted in an estimated 15,000 

deaths in the region; 

Whereas the tsunami on December 26, 2004, killed at least 

165,000 people in Aceh, devastated the landscape, and 

led to the loss of livelihood for 600,000 people; 


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•HRES 238 IH 

Whereas the Government of Indonesia and the Free Aceh 

Movement signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 

August 15, 2005, in Helsinki; 

Whereas the Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM), led by the European Union (EU), the Association of Southeast Asian 

Nations (ASEAN), Norway, and Switzerland, has supported the implementation of the Helsinki Memorandum 

of Understanding successfully; 

Whereas the Free Aceh Movement has demobilized its military troops and decommissioned its arms; 

Whereas the Government of Indonesia has withdrawn its nonorganic military and police forces from Aceh; 

Whereas the Law on the Governing of Aceh (LoGA) was 

signed into law by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang 

Yudhoyono on August 1, 2006; 

Whereas the general life situation of the Acehnese has improved significantly since the signing of the Helsinki 

Memorandum of Understanding and the Acehnese populate markets and celebrate festivities in public; 

Whereas the first democratic and peaceful gubernatorial and 

district administrative elections in Aceh were held on December 11, 2006, and more than 80 percent of entitled 

Acehnese voted; and 

Whereas Irwandi Yusuf, a former leader of the Free Aceh 

Movement, won the gubernatorial election with the highest support of more than 38 percent of total votes: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) commends the first democratic elections in 

3 Aceh, a province in Sumatra, Indonesia, in which 


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•HRES 238 IH 

1 the Acehnese have shown their strong commitment 

2 to democracy and peace, and congratulates Irwandi 

3 Yusuf, the first democratic elected governor of Aceh; 

4 (2) expresses its ongoing support for the fur5 ther democratic development of Aceh and the Hel6 sinki Memorandum of Understanding signed by the 

7 Government of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Move8 ment on August 15, 2005; 

9 (3) encourages both parties to live up to their 

10 commitments under the Helsinki Memorandum of 

11 Understanding, especially with regard to establishing 

12 a Human Rights Court for Aceh and a Commission 

13 of Truth and Reconciliation; and 

14 (4) encourages the Secretary of State and the 

15 Administrator of the United States Agency for 

16 International Development to commit resources in 

17 supporting the peace and building a strong civil soci18 ety in Aceh. 

Æ 


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