IOM, with the support of the Aceh Peace Reintegration Agency (BRA)
and the Forum for Communication and Coordination (FKK), will this
month take part in celebrations in towns and villages throughout
the province to mark the third anniversary of the signing of the
Helsinki Peace Agreement between the Indonesian government and the
Free Aceh Movement (GAM.)

Acehnese musician and Peace Ambassador Rafly and his band KanDe
will headline six concerts in towns across Aceh, starting in
Lhokseumawe on August 2nd and culminating in Banda Aceh on August
15 – the anniversary of the signing. The other concerts will
take place in Bireuen on 4th August, Takengon on 6th August,
Kutacane on 8th August and Tapaktuan on 11th August.

The Rafly KanDe Saweu Syedara concerts, which IOM is helping to
coordinate, will include a one-hour line-up of traditional Acehnese
poetry and music, including messages of peace and harmony to raise
awareness of the benefits of a sustainable peace. Local leaders
attending the concerts are expected to publicly pledge their
collective commitment to the peace process.

The anniversary celebrations will also extend to nine
conflict-affected villages in remote areas of Aceh Utara, Aceh
Timur and Aceh Selatan from 3-21 August.

IOM's Canadian-funded Makmue Gampong Kereuna Damé or
Village Prosperity Through Peace project, will organize a series of
performances in the villages to promote gotong royong or
traditional mutual community assistance, as a way of building
community spirit following almost three decades of conflict.

Events will include a live drama performance featuring an
unusual star: a goat. "We need the ideas and voices of everyone in
the village to preserve the peace. Peace doesn't depend on
outsiders or foreigners, but on all Acehnese. So the message from
this play is to speak up and don't be as mute as a goat," says IOM
senior project worker Arqam.

IOM's Village Prosperity Through Peace project is a community
programme which supports peace at village level in 396
conflict-affected villages across Aceh. The project promotes
women's participation, community decision-making and transparency
to foster community cooperation and build trust.

It also provides villages in areas which experienced high levels
of conflict with a peace dividend – the provision of
small-scale community and livelihood support projects, such as
bridges, irrigation, community and recreational facilities, and
connection to the electricity grid.

For further information please contact:

Jihan Labetubun

IOM Jakarta

Tel: +62 8111907028

E-mail: "mailto:jlabetubun@iom.int" target="_blank" title=
"">jlabetubun@iom.int