Indonesia passes Aceh autonomy bill
Indonesia's parliament yesterday passed a draft law granting tsunami-lashed Aceh wide-ranging autonomy as part of a peace deal signed last year with separatist rebels, a lawmaker said.
The law clears the way for local elections to be held in the staunchly Muslim province, where 29 years of conflict had left around 15,000 people dead, mostly civilians.
"It has been passed into law and there were no major arguments on sensitive issues, including the creation of local political parties," Prio Budi Santoso told AFP.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. The peace pact signed last August by the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) called for a law giving Aceh partial self-rule that should have been passed by March 31.
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