TO SEE THE UNSEEN - Scenes behind the Aceh Peace Treaty

Book excerpt: “From a business perspective, I comprehend Dr. Farid’s task was to offer,sell, and carry out after-sale services. Dr. Farid, from a surgeon’sperspective, comprehends his task was to check, take action and aidrecovery. Dr. Farid undertook his duty with true sincerity, responsibility,and joy, thus enabling him to find the path that eluded us.” M. Jusuf Kalla Vice President Republic of Indonesia (2004-2009 & 2014-2019) “Dr. Farid Husain is indeed an extraordinary person. He is a man ofpatience and honesty who never once despaired of bringing the twoconflicting parties of GAM and RI to the negotiating table.” Malik Mahmud Former GAM Prime Minister “This man successfully implemented many of Jusuf Kalla’s orders andsucceeded in bringing the conflicting sides to the negotiating table ....When the religious sentiment erupted in Poso, Central Sulawesi, severalyears ago, Farid went to extreme lengths behind the screen to bringabout the signing of the Malino I Peace Treaty in December 2001.” Special Edition of Tempo Magazine, October 30 2005 “..in my view, Farid Husain, just like Jusuf Kalla, was an essential troubleshooter. They could both be relied upon to solve problems.” Pieter Feith Former Chief of Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM) I wrote this book from the notes I compiled while conducting peace missions in several territories within our homeland, specifically in Poso, Ambon, and Aceh. As many of my notes have never been publicized before, Mr. Jusuf Kalla has no real idea of their contents. This was one fact that motivated me to write this book. I wanted to expose the ‘unseen’ and that is why I chose the title To See the Unseen. I hope that the experiences depicted in this book may benefit the readers, especially those with an interest in conflict resolution and peace.