Free Aceh unthinkable<\/p>\n
Secessionist movements are strange affairs. They are nothing
\nif not local. The grievances that cause them are local; their
\npartisans are rooted to the soil; and they seek to affirm a local
\nidentity by detaching themselves from a larger entity. However,
\nthe success of those movements depends as much on external
\nresponses as on internal factors.<\/p>\n
Even if a part of a country secedes by force, after a
\nsuccessful separatist war, this is no guarantee that it will
\nsucceed as an independent state. To do so, it would require the
\nrecognition and support of other states, and if those are not
\nforthcoming, independence would represent little more than a
\nPyrrhic victory.<\/p>\n
So it is for Indonesia's province of Aceh. Those who are
\ndetermined to settle for nothing less than its independence might
\nwell reflect substantial sentiments on the ground, but it is
\nunclear whether they appreciate the international context of
\ntheir actions.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's hostility -- given that it has ruled out the
\noption of independence through a referendum -- can be taken for
\ngranted. Without the support of Southeast Asian nations, the
\nUnited States, China and Russia, an independent Aceh would be a
\nstillborn country.<\/p>\n
-- The Straits Times, Singapore<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/free-aceh-unthinkable-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }