Civil society must stop war<\/p>\n
Aguswandi, Indonesia Human Rights Campaign TAPOL, London<\/p>\n
The scholar Kirsten Schulze was right to point out that the
\nconflict in Aceh after all is political (The Jakarta Post, Aug.
\n28). Unless the political problem is settled, the war in Aceh
\nwill never end. This is also the case with the conflicts in Papua
\nand in other places in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
It was inadequate, if not altogether wrong, for Schulze if she
\nhoped that Indonesian politicians and the military would be able
\nto solve the political problem in Aceh. The conflict will not end
\nuntil the root causes are removed. The removal of the causes --
\ninjustice, an unfair structural relationship between Aceh and
\nJakarta, and the stress towards a militaristic approach and its
\nimplications -- requires imagination and intelligence that the
\ngovernment of President Megawati Soekarnoputri and the military
\nare simply incapable of providing.<\/p>\n
In the case of Aceh, the government has not been able to come
\nup with any clear political solution, and merely repeats the
\nmistakes of previous administrations, by allowing the military to
\nwage a war in Aceh. War is always good to show that something is
\nbeing done -- which is even more important to boost the political
\npopularity of a weak government.<\/p>\n
The lack of the government's political imagination is also
\nevident in West Papua. Unable to settle the problem there, the
\ngovernment has decided to divide the territory into three
\nprovinces, leading to clashes and serious deterioration in the
\nterritory. The government has even rejected the request from
\nlocals for a genuine dialog.<\/p>\n
The government's failure in Aceh and West Papua shows that
\nother elements must take the lead. Civil society seems to be the
\nonly group capable of playing a significant role, and must thus
\nmake its voice heard in response to the political crises.<\/p>\n
Mainstream approaches have neglected the involvement of civil
\nsociety. As a result, peace in Aceh was short-lived and fragile,
\nand in the end it collapsed. The people have a greater potential
\nfor solving Aceh's political problem in a more civilized and
\ncomprehensive way -- because they are more interested in people
\nthan territory. The discourse in the Aceh conflict is not about
\nnational self-determination, but about people's self-
\ndetermination.<\/p>\n
Everybody should be encouraged to talk about people, because
\nif we continue to put territory above people, many groups will
\ncontinue killing each other.<\/p>\n
In Papua, the conflict has also created a new generation
\nconcerned about the people's future, and who now lead the peace
\nmovement. They aim for dialog with Jakarta to solve all political
\ndisputes about the past, the present and the future.<\/p>\n
Other Indonesians have to be a partner in this civil society
\nengagement. Indonesians should not let the military and the
\ngovernment go on convincing them that military operation is the
\nonly possible answer to the political crises.<\/p>\n
History teaches us how military solutions have been a big
\nmistake such as Aceh, West Papua and East Timor. Far from a
\nsource of stability, the military has been a source of
\ninstability, violence and disintegration in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Therefore, Indonesia's civil society should take the lead. Its
\ninvolvement is urgent since they are also victims of the
\nconflicts. Also, lowly paid and untrained soldiers have been sent
\nto war and many have died for \"nationhood\" in the narrow sense of
\nmerely preserving territory, a myth perpetuated by the corrupt
\ngovernment and generals in Jakarta who have wreaked destruction
\non Acehnese, Papuans and other Indonesians.<\/p>\n
In a time of economic crisis, while there is no money for
\ndevelopment, education, and health services, it turns out there
\nis still large amounts of money to send troops to conflict areas.<\/p>\n
State funds which should be spent on eradicating poverty,
\nunemployment and saving lives are instead being used to buy high-
\ntech weaponry to destroy \"the enemy\" -- including innocent people
\nin Aceh and West Papua. Despite years of struggle by many
\nIndonesians for a free press and intellectual debate, public
\nopinion is now being manipulated to gain legitimacy for the war.<\/p>\n
Civil society -- Acehnese, West Papuans and other Indonesians
\n-- must solve these political crises for the sake of a peaceful
\nfuture. We should stop hoping that the government will be able to
\nsolve them, because it does not have the creativity to do so. The
\npoliticians and military are only interested in the territories,
\nnot the people -- at whatever cost.<\/p>\n
Indonesian civil society must engage directly in an open
\ndialog about the kind of society and the kind of Indonesia it
\nwants to create, because all of us deserve something better than
\nwhat we have now.<\/p>\n
The writer is an Acehnese human rights campaigner working as a
\nresearcher for TAPOL (Political Prisoner).<\/p>",
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