Folly of military option<\/p>\n
Various statements from top government and Indonesian Military
\n(TNI) officials about the problem of Aceh in the past week have
\nconfirmed our worst fear: The military option has been put back
\non the front burner once again. Other options still available at
\nthe government's disposal, including the search for a negotiated
\nsettlement, have been put on hold while the military steps up its
\ncampaign against the armed Aceh Free Movement (GAM).<\/p>\n
The Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs,
\nretired Army general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, said on Saturday
\nthat a new military operation would soon be launched in Aceh. Lt.
\nGen. Ryamizard Ryacudu, the chief of the Army Strategic Reserves
\nCommand (Kostrad), set TNI's objective in such a campaign in no
\nuncertain terms: a total annihilation of GAM.<\/p>\n
With the government and TNI hardening their positions, the
\nsituation on the ground is now ripe for full-scale conflict, with
\nall its ugly consequences. The death of the chief of the
\nIndrapuri Subdistrict Military Command last week has made the TNI
\nmore resolute, if not to quash GAM, then at least to exact
\nrevenge.<\/p>\n
The conflict between TNI and GAM has increased both in
\nfrequency and intensity in recent weeks. The human casualties
\nhave been alarming, not only among the two warring camps, but
\nmore tragically, among civilians. Now hardly a day goes by
\nwithout this newspaper reporting new deaths in Aceh.<\/p>\n
The government's decision to pursue the military option,
\nhowever, defies logic and is shortsighted. It was probably
\nconcocted upon the delusion that the military is gaining the
\nupper hand in its war against GAM.<\/p>\n
Any TNI claim that it is close to crushing GAM, and that it is
\nwinning the hearts and minds of the people in Aceh, must be
\ntreated with a grain of salt. Like any party to a conflict, the
\nmilitary has had its share of propaganda, just as GAM has had
\nits. In all likelihood, TNI's claim that it is winning the war is
\nmostly propaganda in an effort to turn public opinion to support
\nthe military option plan.<\/p>\n
TNI may have made many important arrests, including six GAM
\nnegotiators, killed one or two top GAM commanders, or won one or
\ntwo battles, but it is far from winning the war against GAM. And
\ngiven that GAM is waging guerrilla warfare, it is inconceivable
\nthat TNI can ever hope to win the Aceh battle.<\/p>\n
History is not on TNI's side, or on the side of any military
\ndealing with guerrillas. TNI's history is full of debacles in
\nfighting separatist rebels: East Timor, Irian Jaya and Aceh.<\/p>\n
In Aceh, a military operation launched in 1989 not only failed
\nto annihilate GAM, but it hardened and strengthened the rebels.
\nIt also drove more Acehnese to the separatist cause, thanks in no
\nsmall measure to the many human rights atrocities attributed to
\nTNI. When that operation ended in 1999, it left a deep scar among
\nthe Acehnese, and destroyed TNI's credibility so much that many
\npeople in Aceh and outside still believe to this day that TNI is
\npart of the problem and thus can never be part of the solution.<\/p>\n
Those who advocate a military campaign in Aceh should think
\nagain. The military option has been tried before in East Timor,
\nIrian Jaya and Aceh. Each time, it failed the nation miserably.<\/p>\n
The use of military force should never be an option in the
\nfirst place. It is not only ineffective and costly in terms of
\nhuman lives, but, as the lessons of East Timor should have taught
\nus by now, it could be the one single major factor that pushes
\nAceh out of the republic.<\/p>\n
The nation's best hope in winning the hearts and minds of the
\nAceh people remains in the search for a negotiated settlement.
\nPresident Megawati has made the right overtures, with a public
\napology to Aceh people in her Independence Day speech this month,
\nand ordering the release of six GAM members who were arrested
\nduring peaceful negotiations. The police, for some unexplained
\nreason, have yet to carry out this presidential order.<\/p>\n
The government has also started to implement a new law that
\ngives Aceh sweeping autonomy and a greater share of revenue from
\nnatural resources. All this accumulated goodwill and confidence-
\nbuilding could be wiped out overnight if and when the government
\ndecides to use the military option.<\/p>",
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