On December 12, 2002 the Government of the Republic of Indonesia (GOI) and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) signed a historic peace agreement in Geneva. Although this is not the first attempt at peace, the sustained and significant international involvement in this recent effort has given people in Aceh and Indonesia reason for a cautious hope that peace is indeed on the way. Many Acehnese, exhausted from decades of violence and human rights abuses, are welcoming the news.
