BANDA ACEH, Indonesia – Indonesia’s Aceh rebels formally disbanded their armed wing today in a major step toward ending one of Asia’s longest separatist conflicts.
Peace efforts gained momentum after Aceh province was devastated by the massive earthquake and tsunami on Dec. 26, 2004.
Since the signing of a peace agreement in August, the former fighters have handed in all of their self-declared 840 arms and the Indonesian military has withdrawn nearly 20,000 troops from Aceh.
The government will start preparing laws giving the rebels the right to form a political party and cementing the region’s right to greater autonomy and control of its natural resources.
The rebels took up arms in 1976 to carve out an independent homeland in the oil- and gas-rich province.
Russia: Gas attack sickens 78
A gas attack in a St. Petersburg home-supply store on one of the busiest shopping days of the year sickened scores of people Monday in an incident that police called likely motivated by a commercial dispute or blackmail attempt. Boxes containing timers wired to glass vials were discovered at the scene of the attack and three other stores in the same chain. Seventy-eight people sought medical care; 66 were briefly hospitalized, officials said. Officials with the Maksidom home-supply chain said they had received threats that sales would be disrupted around New Year’s, when Russians traditionally give holiday gifts.
Austria: Name taken off stadium
Officials in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s hometown of Graz quietly and under cover of darkness removed giant metal letters spelling out his name on a soccer stadium. The California governor had asked for his name to be stricken from the 15,300-seat arena after critics in his birthplace, where opposition to capital punishment runs high, scorned him for refusing to block this month’s execution of convicted killer Stanley “Tookie” Williams.
Pakistan: India frees 8 prisoners
India freed eight Pakistani prisoners, including a teenage boy, in Lahore on Monday as part of peace efforts between the South Asia rivals, while the two governments scheduled new talks to resolve their long-standing dispute over the Himalayan territory of Kashmir. As part of the peace process, the two governments have agreed to expedite the release of each other’s prisoners caught on the wrong side of the border and often accused of spying. Many such prisoners say they accidentally wandered across the poorly marked frontier.
Chile: Court rules against Pinochet
Chile’s top court on Monday refused to drop charges against Gen. Augusto Pinochet in the disappearance of six dissidents during his military regime, and ruled that the former dictator must remain under house arrest. A panel of the Supreme Court voted 3-2 to reject the appeal filed by the defense lawyers for the 90-year-old former ruler, said one of the judges, Alberto Chaigneau. It was the latest in a string of legal setbacks for Pinochet in his long fight against human rights and corruption charges. He has been under house arrest since Nov. 24, when he was indicted for the six disappearances.
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