On 26 December, a devastating tsunami destroyed Aceh's western coastline and much of the capital Banda Aceh. Over 200,000 Acehnese were killed and another 400,000 displaced. Much of the western coastal area from Banda Aceh to Meuloboh was completely destroyed. The GOI along with the international community responded rapidly to the crisis and came to Aceh to assist in the relief effort.

The leadership of the GAM in Stockholm, Sweden, called for a ceasefire on 26 December to ensure relief supplies and aid personnel were not hampered by insecurity. The Indonesian military also appeared to scale back offensive operations. During the first few weeks following the tsunami, no major incidents occurred.

More importantly the two parties pledged to try and renew the dialogue process. Representatives of the HD Centre operating in Aceh, Jakarta and Stockholm, Sweden, met regularly with officials from GAM and the GOI to encourage and prepare them to engage in talks.

Since then, the two parties have had five rounds of talks in Helsinki, Finland under the auspices of the Crisis Management Initiative. As a result of these negotiations, the GOI and the GAM signed a peace agreement on 15 August 2005. 

In April 2003, faced with a general deterioration in the security situation in Aceh, the decision was taken to temporarily relocate the TMTs to Banda Aceh to ensure their safety. Unfortunately, problems in implementing the demilitarization plan contributed to a worsening of the situation on the ground and a Joint Council was called to address the differences over the demilitarization process and other issues and to take measures to resolve them.

After deliberating over possible venues and dates, the GOI and the GAM agreed to a JC hosted by the Government of Japan in Tokyo on 17-18 May 2003. The two sides were, however, unable to find middle ground. As a result, the JC concluded on 18 May, closely followed a few hours later by the declaration of martial law in Aceh. With the start of the military offensive, all JSC international and local staff members were relieved of their official duties and arrangements were made to transport them back to their places of origin.

In the months immediately following the signing, substantial progress was made in the implementation of the COHA. The first meeting of the 15-member tripartite JSC took place in Banda Aceh on 20 December 2002. The JSC subsequently agreed upon key issues, including a structure of information exchange between the two sides and a set of guidelines for levying sanctions against violators of the COHA.

There was also a dramatic reduction in armed clashes and fatalities in Aceh. In the month following the December 9 signing, Aceh witnessed, for the first time in over two years, a week pass without an armed clash between GOI forces and the GAM. Furthermore, as opposed to a previous average of 230 deaths per month before the COHA's signing, there were 15 reported casualties in the same month. This figure remained low till April.

The first Peace Zone was inaugurated in the Indrapuri District in Greater Aceh at a formal ceremony on 25 January 2003. Further negotiations at the JSC in the following weeks led to the identification of an additional six Peace Zones. GAM members and GOI forces were prohibited from carrying weapons in those Zones and neither side could move additional forces into them.

The tripartite monitoring operation started at the beginning of January 2003 and reached its full strength in the first week of March. A total of 48 HD Centre monitors from Thailand and Philippines were deployed across Aceh along with their GOI and GAM counterparts in 6-member tripartite monitoring teams (TMTs). Besides monitoring the security violations in Aceh, the TMTs also escorted several groups of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) back to their homes.

In March 2003 an additional four Peace Zones were inaugurated, namely in Kawai XVI sub-district in West Aceh, Peusangan sub-district in Bireuen, Sawang sub-district in South Aceh, Tiro sub-district in Pidie, Simpang Keramat sub-district in North Aceh and Idi Tunong sub-district in East Aceh.

In line with its responsibility for carrying out no-notice inspections of the GAM's weapons sites in the demilitarization plan, the HD Centre put together a team of Weapons Verifiers to assist with the verification process.

The HD Centre also worked closely with the Public Information Unit (PIU) in the dissemination of information on the peace process in Aceh. Through its Media Adviser, the HD Centre assisted the PIU in a robust information campaign to keep the public informed of the peace process in an accurate, fair and transparent manner; and to make the process accountable to the people. This included amongst others regular interaction with local, regional, national and international media, dissemination of periodic press releases that provided updates on the peace process, issuing weekly newsletters (circulation 25,000) and arranging weekly JSC press conferences.

After months of bilateral negotiations, the HD Centre brought the GoI and GAM to Geneva on 9 December 2002 to sign the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA). The signing ceremony was attended by high-level delegations from both parties, representatives from Acehnese NGOs and representatives of the diplomatic community and a large contingent of the international press.

As in the 10 May 2002 Joint Statement, the COHA committed both parties to using the Special Autonomy Law as a starting point for an all-inclusive dialogue, leading to the establishment of a democratic autonomous government in 2004.

The COHA also called for the creation of a tripartite (GOI, GAM, HD Centre) monitoring mission to oversee its implementation. This included the establishment of a Joint Security Committee (JSC) to monitor and maintain the security situation in Aceh through the placement of 144 monitors from the 3 sides.

The COHA also mandated the setting up of Peace Zones across the province, in an effort to channel initial humanitarian, rehabilitation and reconstruction assistance to some of the worst-affected parts of Aceh. After allowing for a period of confidence building, the COHA called for the two parties to initiate a process of demilitarization involving the storage of GAM weapons in designated sites, and the relocation of GOI forces from offensive to defensive positions.

In May 2002, they met again in Switzerland for the second time in four months to discuss issues flagged for consultation in February. The outcome was a signed Joint Statement giving a clear mandate for future negotiations to focus on an all-inclusive dialogue process, using the Special Autonomy Law as a starting point, to review important issues concerning the Acehnese people arising from this law, and to work "with all speed" on an agreement on cessation of hostilities coupled with an effective monitoring mechanism.

On 3 December 2002, the HD Centre participated in the Preparatory Conference on Peace and Reconstruction in Aceh in Tokyo, Japan, along with more than 16 countries and five international organisations, to secure political and financial support for the on-going dialogue and an international monitoring mission in Aceh. Participants called on the GOI and the GAM to continue their negotiations with a view to concluding an agreement on a cessation of hostilities as soon as possible. Over USD $8 million were pledged to the HD

However, in August 2001, stability returned once Megawati Sukarnoputri had succeeded Abdurahman Wahid. Furthermore, she took steps that put the dialogue process back on track including the appointment to her cabinet of individuals favourable to the dialogue process. About six week laters, the members of GAM's Committee that had been imprisoned in Aceh were released into the custody of the HD Centre. To assist the HD Centre in its new effort to renew the dialogue process, it introduced a group of international dignitaries into the process. Known as the Wisemen, they helped advise the HD Centre and the two parties.

In a significant breakthrough, in September 2001, the leaders of GAM in a meeting with the HD Centre agreed that the new framework for talks could focus on 'interim solutions'. This was the first time GAM had agreed to engage in a step-by-step process which would include autonomy as part of the sequencing.

Meanwhile, in Aceh, the HD Centre maintained its office and international staff continued to work with members of the monitoring teams and representatives from civil society, local government, and non-governmental groups to press for a resumption of the dialogue process.

In February 2002, both parties agreed to engage in another round of talks in Switzerland. They outlined a timetable for future talks focusing on autonomy, a cessation of hostilities, all-inclusive and transparent political dialogue and elections.

The HD Centre brought both parties together for a second Joint Council meeting in June, during a period of increasing violence in Aceh and of political uncertainty about the status of President Wahid in Jakarta. At the meeting, both parties reaffirmed their commitment to dialogue but dissolved the JCHA and suspended the JCSM. However, they did offer to support humanitarian projects, appoint a high-level contact for security issues, and set up a Steering Committee to advise the process on democratic consultations.

In July, despite meetings on the Joint Council directives the two parties were unable to reach agreement on how to implement them. Furthermore, the political and security situation in Indonesia became more tenuous with the impeachment of President Wahid. In Aceh, the local police arrested and imprisoned six GAM members of the joint committees and monitoring teams and provocative public statements were made, implying the end of the dialogue process. The HD Centre was concerned about the increasing violence in Aceh and the safety of its staff due to increasing threats towards them.

The first Joint Council met in February 2001. Both parties endorsed the agreements reached earlier between field commanders, recommended the extension of the mechanisms that had been put in place, and reaffirmed their commitment to preliminary consultations with the Acehnese people.

In Aceh, the HD Centre continued to facilitate initiatives to advance the process of finding solutions to the conflict. This included creating peace zones, humanitarian projects for devastated communities and the beginning of democratic consultations between the two parties and the people of Aceh.

In January 2001, representatives of both parties agreed for the first time to discuss political solutions to resolving the conflict. Under the auspices of the HD Centre, they met over the course of four days and discussed the causes of the conflict and identified practical steps and solutions that would help end it. It included agreements on democratic processes, security, human rights, social and economic development.

This agreement was called the Provisional Understanding. As a first step, they put into place security arrangements to allow for a moratorium on violence, meetings among field commanders, and the creation of a framework for a process of democratic consultations with participation by the people of Aceh. The representatives agreed to establish a Joint Council, supported by the HD Centre, to review progress, address issues raised through the democratic consultation process and ensure adherence to agreements.

In May 2000, confidential talks facilitated by the HD Centre led to the signing of a Joint Understanding for a three month Humanitarian Pause in Aceh. This was designed to provide for the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the population of Aceh, security modalities for this aid, a reduction in the levels of violence and tension and the promotion of confidence-building measures. The agreement came into effect on 2 June 2000 and was renewed again for another three months in September 2000.

As part of the agreement, the GOI and GAM established a Joint Forum which would meet on a regular basis to monitor and review the agreement. Each party also selected representatives from Aceh to form two committees to implement the agreement, a Joint Committee for Security Modalities (JCSM), and a Joint Committee for Humanitarian Action (JCHA).

Two independent monitoring teams (Humanitarian and Security) were formed to monitor compliance and violations of the agreement in Aceh. In December 2000, four District Monitoring Teams were also created to increase the monitoring capability and decentralise at least one aspect of the process.

All of the Committees and Monitoring teams were based in Aceh and lived and worked together with three expatriate representatives from the HD Centre and a dedicated national staff. They reported to the Joint Forum which met with them in Geneva on three occasions and issued Directives to guide them in the implementation of the agreement.