A new potential conflict in Aceh<\/p>\n
Ardimas Sasdi, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The peace pact signed by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the
\nIndonesian government in Helsinki on Aug. 15 has so far brought
\nhopes of a lasting peace to the province after more than 30 years
\nof war.<\/p>\n
But all parties must remain on guard to contain small
\nconflicts at the grassroots, which if not properly tackled could
\nspiral out of control and destroy this blossoming optimism.<\/p>\n
The Acehnese, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and other
\nworld leaders have good reason to be pleased. Speaking at the
\nSixth Asian European Editors' Forum in Jakarta two weeks after
\nthe signing of the accord, Susilo hailed the peace pact as a
\nmilestone achievement of his young government.<\/p>\n
The Acehnese in general and GAM in particular have been no
\nless sanguine. Despite their lack of trust of the House of
\nRepresentatives in Jakarta, GAM's response to the accord has been
\npositive, with its guerrillas coming down from the hills, taking
\noff their combat uniforms, surrendering their weapons and
\nreturning to their communities after years apart after years
\napart from their families. It is not surprising, however, that
\nsome have admitted, after all the fighting, that they now don't
\nknow what to do with their lives.<\/p>\n
The response of the Indonesian Military (TNI), whose role in
\nthe peace efforts is crucial, has also been encouraging. The TNI
\nand police have exercised self-restraint and begun pulling out
\ntroops from Aceh, although they were initially not supportive of
\nthe deal. The military's role is so vital in the Aceh peace that
\nit would have been unthinkable to imagine an accord without their
\nsupport.<\/p>\n
In line with the Helsinki agreement, the government has also
\nreleased GAM members from prisons across the country under a
\nspecial amnesty program and allowed them to return to their
\nfamilies.<\/p>\n
In a nutshell as expressed by Sofyan Djalil, the Indonesian
\nMinister of Communication and Information who is also Acehnese
\nand was a negotiator at the Helsinki talks, \"so far everything is
\nworking well.\"<\/p>\n
GAM took up arms in 1976 against the Indonesian government and
\nthe response by Jakarta was the massive deployment of military
\nforces to crush the rebellion. But the Dec. 26 tsunami, which
\nravaged villages and towns in coastal areas and killed more than
\n130,000 people, helped push the rebels to drop their long-held
\ndemands for independence and return to the negotiating table with
\nthe government.<\/p>\n
The cessation of this armed conflict, plans to help GAM start
\nnew lives by giving them land, living allowances and other
\nresources as well as the goodwill of the former rebels to stop
\nfighting are highly commendable. But it is wrong to simplify
\nconflict in Aceh into the problem of an armed struggle.<\/p>\n
The almost 30-year conflict, which has claimed 15,000 lives --
\nmostly innocent people -- has gone beyond the territory of Aceh,
\nas it has torn into the very fabric of society there, leaving
\nmany people with gaping wounds, both physical and mental. The
\nAcehnese have become sharply divided into two groups-- the pro-
\nJakarta Acehnese and the GAM members or GAM sympathizers.<\/p>\n
To heal these wounds will not be an easy job and will require
\nthe firm determination of the Acehnese and probably also help
\nfrom outside, including psychologists and experts on peace and
\nconflict resolution.<\/p>\n
\"Now we are not afraid of the pai (the Acehnese for the TNI)
\nas at least there is a law for them to obey. Moreover, peace
\nmonitors are everywhere to watch their acts. We are worried about
\nenemies in disguise and GAM, who in principle are civilians \",
\nsaid an Acehnese who lives in Depok, a suburb south of Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Some Acehnese, who live outside the natural resource-rich
\nprovince choose not to return to Aceh, but have adopted a-wait-
\nand-see attitude for their own security.<\/p>\n
These lingering doubts must be seen in the context of a
\ntransition period in a post-war era, which is usually as rocky
\nand as dangerous as the initial war was. There will be many
\ndisguised enemies, who have hard feelings about incidents that
\nmay have happened years before, and who see this time of
\ntransition as a chance to take revenge.<\/p>\n
Recent reports have said that a prominent figure from Sigli
\nwas dragged by unknown intruders from his home one night and
\nbutchered. His body was found by his family the next day not far
\nfrom his house, but they could not bury his remains immediately
\nas they were worried about the murderers' return.<\/p>\n
In the first incident to threaten the peace accord a former
\nGAM soldier, who surrendered to the TNI earlier this year, was
\nreportedly killed by more unidentified assailants in Lawet
\nvillage, West Aceh. A GAM spokesman said the victim could have
\nbeen killed by former colleagues, who had accused him of being a
\ntraitor.<\/p>\n
Fears about such killings are not being exaggerated, they are
\ncommon and real -- the results of a long and bitter conflict. If
\nthe aftermath of the aborted 1965 coup taught us anything, it is
\nthat civilians with the right motivation can kill as brutally and
\nefficiently as soldiers. At least 500,000 people connected to the
\nIndonesian Communist Party were slaughtered in this \"peace-time\"
\nconflict; one still far more devastating than the wrath of any
\nnatural disaster.<\/p>\n
To prevent 1965's shameful human tragedy from happening in
\nAceh, all parties -- the Indonesian government, GAM and foreign
\nmonitors grouped under the Aceh Monitoring Mission -- need to
\ntake the proper steps.<\/p>\n
These steps include the employment of enough police to improve
\nsecurity at the villages-level and a campaign to socialize the
\npeace agreement and build awareness among Acehnese -- pro- and
\nanti-integration groups -- on the need to live in harmony and
\nforgive and forget past conflicts.<\/p>\n
The initiative by a pesantren (Islamic boarding school) in
\nLeueng Bata, near Banda Aceh to help victims and children of the
\nconflict to come to terms with the past is an excellent first
\nstep and should be emulated.<\/p>\n
The dangers of future conflict must not be underestimated.
\nThose at the grassroots -- those still in pain, those still
\nsharply divided -- are also those that can be easily manipulated,
\ncreating a chaos that could destroy the longed-for peace and the
\nUS$5 billion reconstruction.<\/p>\n
The author is a staff writer of The Jakarta Post<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/a-new-potential-conflict-in-aceh-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }