'Aceh has buried special autonomy, sharia law'<\/p>\n
Amid the ongoing military operation to quell the armed rebellion
\nin Aceh, it is very difficult to meet with GAM leaders. Ishak
\nDaud, GAM Commander for East Aceh gave an exclusive interview to
\nThe Jakarta Post's Tiarma Siboro at his base camp in an
\nundisclosed area in the province recently.<\/p>\n
Question: Why are the Acehnese people not interested in special
\nautonomy and sharia (Islamic law)?<\/p>\n
Answer: Special autonomy and sharia are two things the Acehnese
\npeople demanded almost 60 years ago and most of those who aired
\nthose demands have already passed away, while the present
\ngeneration has forgotten it since the government rejected it.<\/p>\n
We commenced the struggle for independence when the government
\nfailed to fulfill its promise on the special autonomy to enable
\nus to manage own affairs under our own authority.<\/p>\n
More blood will likely spill in our own homeland because the
\nIndonesian government wants our people to continue suffering.<\/p>\n
Now they are only demanding freedom and want to live in peace.<\/p>\n
Please, stop the war, terror and intimidation to avoid more
\nbloodshed and let them determine their own future<\/p>\n
If Jakarta is confident that most Acehnese people are happy to
\nbe part of Indonesia why doesn't it hold a self-determination
\nreferendum.<\/p>\n
Do you think that the Indonesian government has deceived the
\nAcehnese people?<\/p>\n
Yes, I do. History has noted that Aceh played an important role
\nin fighting for Indonesia's freedom from Dutch rule and the
\nBritish and Japanese occupation.<\/p>\n
Under the leadership of Teungku Daud Beureueh, Aceh stood
\nbehind the newly born Republic of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The country's first President Sukarno even declared the
\nprovince as a capital region of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Indeed, founding president Sukarno, the father of President
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri, asked the Acehnese people to put aside a
\npart of their income to contribute to the country's revolution in
\nthe 1940s to achieve advancements in all fields.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, Jakarta dissolved Aceh province in 1951 and put
\nit under North Sumatra province with Medan as the provincial
\ncapital.<\/p>\n
It meant, there was no more autonomy for Aceh.<\/p>\n
Even worse, Sukarno hit the Acehnese people's heart in 1953
\nwhen he said in his campaign for Papua's integration into
\nIndonesia that Islam could not be taken as a state ideology for
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
When did the armed rebellion begin?<\/p>\n
The Acehnese people took up arms against Indonesia in 1976 under
\nthe leadership of Hassan Tiro who at the time had just returned
\nfrom his studies in the United States, in their resistance to the
\nway the Indonesian government has mistreated Aceh.<\/p>\n
Bloodshed has continued in our own land until today since tens
\nof thousands of innocent people have been killed and imprisoned
\nwithout trial.<\/p>\n
GAM Commander Muzakkir Manaf and I were born during Tiro's
\ndream (to free Aceh from Indonesia's occupation) and we are among
\nthousands of people who have witnessed the Indonesian Military's
\nrepression of Aceh over the last three decades.<\/p>\n
Do you think GAM will win the war?<\/p>\n
From the military point of view, the war looks imbalanced as GAM
\nhas to face some 35,000 military personnel armed with
\nsophisticated war machines. But it won't kill GAM and the
\nindependence spirit that has been internalized by all Acehnese
\npeople. GAM will continue to exist and we have won the hearts of
\nthe people.<\/p>\n
Are you tired?<\/p>\n
No, I'm not. I will never tire of fighting for our freedom
\nand will continue to seek international recognition from
\ndemocratic countries because we have sacrificed our lives to that
\nextent ... you all know how many innocent people have been
\nkilled, our brothers, our families, our wives... and such actions
\nwill create only pseudo peace in the province.<\/p>\n
When did you join GAM?<\/p>\n
I joined GAM in 1986 while I was living in Singapore. I underwent
\nparamilitary training in several foreign countries in 1988 and
\nmoved to Malaysia until the Malaysian authorities deported me in
\n1991. I returned home to face trial and prison.<\/p>\n
I am happy the struggle is still going on.<\/p>\n
Where does GAM get its arms supply from?<\/p>\n
We purchase guns from numerous parties, including certain
\nindividuals and overseas brokers.<\/p>\n
How do you maintain communication with GAM leaders in-exile?<\/p>\n
I open myself to everyone, even to soldiers who frequently
\ncontact me. We maintain telephone contact regularly to report on
\nthe latest developments in the war. So far there is no
\nsignificant problem in communications with the exiled GAM leaders
\nin Sweden.<\/p>\n
Every day our commander, Muzakkir Manaf, makes contact with
\nGAM's political wing in Sweden. And the instruction is clear.<\/p>\n
Maybe they (the military) are correct in saying that we (GAM)
\nare currently disorganized. But in guerrilla warfare, the weaker
\nparty should step back before it moves to strike back.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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