Aceh killings a wake up call<\/p>\n
CANBERRA, Australia (JP): The article in a prominent
\nAustralian weekend newspaper (Aug. 11-12) on the Julok massacre
\nin Aceh, North Sumatra carried the headline \"Massacre a wake-up
\ncall for new regime\". But the Julok massacre was not a wake-up
\ncall for the new Indonesian administration of President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri, which is fully aware of the atrocities perpetrated
\nby its security forces in Aceh. Rather, it was a wake-up call for
\nthe international community.<\/p>\n
The massacre in East Aceh on Aug. 9 left at least 31 dead and
\nnine in hospital. Eyewitnesses tell of the arrival of the
\nmilitary at the barracks of a plantation company in the early
\nmorning. Workers were forced outside and their wages taken; women
\nand children were separated from the men. The military then
\nforced the men to take off their shirts and opened fire, next
\nturning on the women and children. Among the 31 dead were two
\nunder the age of five and several women.<\/p>\n
The military then proceeded to terrorize civilians in nearby
\nvillages, accusing the men of being members of the Free Aceh
\nMovement (GAM, which has been fighting for independence from
\nJakarta for more than 25 years). An unknown number were taken for
\nfurther \"questioning\" by the security forces; despite the efforts
\nof relatives to gain information on their whereabouts, they have
\nnot been seen since.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister John Howard's visit to Jakarta on Aug. 12, in
\nthe immediate wake of this latest massacre, was the perfect
\nopportunity for Australia to represent the international
\ncommunity's concern for human rights to President Megawati.
\nInstead, Prime Minister Howard engaged in what can only be
\ndescribed as a dance of \"Aussie mateship\". He even told reporters
\nthat \"We admire the steps being undertaken by Indonesia to emerge
\nas a democracy\".<\/p>\n
But Indonesia is a struggling \"democracy\". And behind the
\n\"mateship\" being courted by the Australian government lies the
\never-present (although increasingly ignored) darker side of
\nIndonesian politics. The massacre in Julok was overlooked; Prime
\nMinister Howard chose instead to pledge that Australia would be
\npatient with its closest neighbor, which has so many problems to
\novercome.<\/p>\n
Perhaps Howard should have been briefed on the current
\nsituation in Aceh prior to courting this new-found \"mateship\".
\nThe results of the latest military operation, which has been
\neffective in Aceh since April, are to be witnessed in the likes
\nof Julok and many similar, albeit smaller-scale, killing sprees
\nundertaken by the military.<\/p>\n
Such events are evidence of the \"security solution\" favored by
\nthe military and several political elites. The political solution
\nwhich former President Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) favored, and
\nwhich Megawati says she also prefers to pursue, is nothing more
\nthan a political game. The special autonomy package signed
\nrecently in Jakarta allows (among other things) Aceh to keep 70
\nper cent of oil and gas revenue. Jakarta's perceived exploitation
\nof Aceh's vast oil and gas reserves has been a major factor
\nwinning GAM sympathy in its push for independence. But it does
\nnot address the issue of justice for those who have suffered
\nhuman rights abuses. The package is merely an agreement between
\nJakarta and the Acehnese elite to whose interests it was
\ntailored. Meanwhile, its relevance to the horrors of the killing
\nfields of Aceh will be minimal.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Howard should be reminded that latest talks on
\nAceh broke down in July and that Jakarta subsequently suspended
\ntwo joint rebel-government committees that were monitoring
\nsecurity and humanitarian affairs. Six of the GAM members of this
\ncommittee, subsequently arrested, remain in custody. Moreover,
\nseveral Acehnese are being held as political prisoners, charged
\nunder the same articles Soeharto used to silence his critics.<\/p>\n
In addition, while Howard witnessed in Jakarta the
\npreparations for Indonesia's Aug. 17th Independence Day
\ncelebrations, the Acehnese were being forced to purchase and
\ndisplay the red and white flag. The district military commander
\ndeclared with pride that \"90 percent of houses have the flags\".<\/p>\n
A message I received from Banda Aceh on Aug. 16 from an
\nactivist in Banda Aceh read: \"Please help us. The military is
\nintimidating us if we don't buy a flag but many people have
\nburned flags and now the military is angry. I am very afraid.
\nSince Megawati become Indonesia's president the condition of Aceh
\nhas been more repressive.\"<\/p>\n
Recently two mass graves have been found with a total of 57
\nbodies. The first was uncovered in West Aceh, the bodies
\nallegedly some of those taken for \"further questioning\" by the
\nmilitary in the wake of the Julok massacre. A second grave with
\nnine bodies has also been found. And what of the others who were
\ntaken that day?<\/p>\n
Since the beginning of the year, around 1,500 people have died
\nin Aceh, more than half of that number since the beginning of the
\nnew military operation in April.<\/p>\n
Behind the facade of \"democratization\" lies the hand of the
\nmilitary. Take, for example, the appointment of the new Attorney
\nGeneral, M.A. Rachman. Bowing to pressure from the military and
\nsome political elite, Megawati appointed to the post of Attorney
\nGeneral the executive chair of the special team formed to
\ninvestigate the 1999 human rights violations in East Timor. That
\nteam, headed by Rachman -- upon whose shoulders victims of human
\nrights abuses and those who campaign for accountability now pin
\ntheir hopes -- found there was insufficient evidence to prosecute
\nany of the high ranking officers (including former military
\ncommander Gen. Wiranto) who were involved.<\/p>\n
Howard was the first foreign leader to meet Megawati since she
\nwas sworn in as president several weeks ago. He should have taken
\nthat opportunity to register dismay at, among other things,
\nrecent events in Aceh. Instead, his emphasis was on searching for
\ncommon ground upon which to forge closer ties with the Republic
\nof Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Military ties are an inevitable part of that process. In
\nnegotiating such ties, however, the Australian government should
\nbe aware that the highly nationalist President Megawati will, in
\nthe face of pressure from the military and political elites, give
\nthe military a carte blanche to ensure the integrity of the state
\nagainst the wishes of separatist movements such as GAM.<\/p>\n
The Howard government is moving dangerously close to being
\ncomplicit in what can only be described as a second East Timor.
\nIn Aceh, the rule of law comes from the barrel of a gun; militia
\ngroups armed, trained, and financed by the military have become
\nmore apparent in recent months; the climate of fear is all-
\npervasive, and the victim and fear mentality has led to an
\nescalation in the conflict; the social fabric for most of the
\npopulation of four million has all but disappeared; and
\ninfrastructure has been destroyed.<\/p>\n
Howard's government should spend time assessing \"lessons
\nlearned\" and alter its policies accordingly. The courting of
\n\"mateship\" must be delayed. As in all good love stories, a good
\nrelationship is one worth waiting for.<\/p>\n
The writer is a researcher at the Bonn International Center
\nfor Conversion and at the Australian National University in
\nCanberra.<\/p>",
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