Confrontation in Aceh<\/p>\n
Is the government heading for a confrontation with the people
\nof Aceh? It certainly looks that way if we put two and two
\ntogether. The same day that a two-day general strike, called by
\ndozens of non-governmental organizations, began in the troubled
\nprovince on Wednesday, the National Police announced in Jakarta
\nthat it was launching a massive six-month security operation
\nagainst armed civilians in Aceh, with troops under specific
\nshoot-on-sight orders against civilians who carry fire arms.<\/p>\n
Coincidental or not, the timing of the security operation
\nmirrors the total insensitivity on the part of officials in
\nJakarta toward the grievances of the Acehnese people. This same
\nattitude has been shown by the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the
\nNational Police in approaching the Aceh problem for the past year
\nor so. One has to at least give them credit for consistency.<\/p>\n
The general strike was called by Aceh NGOs in protest at the
\nrecurring violence in their province, mostly perpetrated by
\ngovernment troops. They are demanding no less than the withdrawal
\nof the special troops deployed in Aceh, and for the abandonment
\nof the military plan to establish a new command in their
\nprovince. In short, they are demanding less military.<\/p>\n
Judging by the way major towns like Banda Aceh, Lhokseumawe
\nand Sigli were crippled on Wednesday and Thursday, the call for
\ncivil disobedience received widespread support. This was a
\nvoluntary call, and contrary to what the police claimed, most
\npeople joined because they share the grievances, and not because
\nof threats or intimidation. The armed Gerakan Aceh Merdeka (Free
\nAceh Movement, GAM) did not initiate the strike.<\/p>\n
Yet, instead of heeding the demands, the government is taking
\na tougher stance. Although the police are heading the latest
\nsecurity operation, the involvement of soldiers means this is
\nessentially a revival of the dreaded Military Operations (DOM)
\nwhich claimed thousands of civilian lives from 1989 to August
\nlast year when it was abandoned. It was an operation that left a
\ndeep scar among the Acehnese, and one that severely tarnished the
\nimage and reputation of the military. We have yet to see the TNI
\nliving up to its promise to punish those responsible for the
\natrocities perpetrated under DOM. Instead, we are seeing more
\natrocities being committed under various new operations.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, TNI and the National Police continue in their
\ndenial mode. They have dismissed the general strike as of no
\nconsequence. They are refusing to recognize GAM, preferring to
\ncall it by their own self-created acronyms. Once it was called
\nGPL (Gerakan Pengacau Liar), next it was GPK (Gerakan Pengacau
\nKeamanan), both essentially mean security disturbance groups.
\nThen it was called GPK-HT for GPK Hasan Tiro, so-named after the
\nGAM leader who is in self-exile in Sweden. The latest acronym is
\nGBPK for Gerombolan Bersenjata Pengacau Keamanan or armed
\nsecurity disturbance group.<\/p>\n
The government's refusal to recognize the existence of GAM
\nvirtually rules out any channel of communication and therefore
\nnegotiation. The only thing left is for the government and the
\nrebels to slug it out. It's a sure recipe for violence.<\/p>\n
This was the same approach used in facing the East Timor rebel
\ngroup Fretilin, before the government was forced, by the
\ninternational community, to recognize its presence and to open
\nnegotiations with its leaders. One is left to wonder whether the
\ngovernment, especially the TNI, has not learned anything from
\nIndonesia's botched military adventure in East Timor. At this
\nrate, the TNI, which has already lost its authority and mandate
\nas a sociopolitical force, is risking its authority and
\ncredibility as a defense and security force.<\/p>\n
President B.J. Habibie, or certainly the next elected
\npresident, must take the Aceh initiative out of the TNI's hands,
\nand place it firmly in civilian hands. In the hands of the TNI,
\nthe Aceh situation has become worse over the past year, to the
\nextent that the military, at least in the eyes of many Acehnese,
\nhas become very much part of the problem. It can no longer be
\npart of the solution.<\/p>\n
Students and NGOs in Aceh, who better reflect the people's
\naspirations, are not making unreasonable demands: a referendum,
\nwith the possibility to vote for Aceh becoming a state within a
\nfederal system of government, and for justice and fairness. They
\nare not demanding total separation. But if the government in
\nJakarta continues to use force in dealing with Aceh the way it
\nhas done over the past year, then more and more people will
\ncertainly be driven to fight for Aceh's independence.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/confrontation-in-aceh-1447893297",
"image": ""
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