Generations of Acehnese born amid war<\/p>\n
Let's review Aceh's past a bit. From 1942 to 1945, it was all
\nwar, first with the Japanese ... then from 1945 to 1947 it was a
\ncivil war, the Cumbok war, between the hulubalang and the ulema;
\nin 1948, tens of thousands of young Acehnese men fought the
\nAllies (during the Dutch aggression) again in Medan where between
\n2,000 and 3,000 were killed through to 1950. After relative peace
\nfor a few years, 1953 saw the Islamic movement DI\/TII break out
\nin Aceh; this continued until 1962 when Daud Beureuh (the Aceh
\nleader) stepped down ...<\/p>\n
Rehabilitation was conducted, the Syiah Kuala University was
\nbuilt to win the hearts of the Acehnese ... But in 1965 (the
\nconflict involving) the communist movement also spread to Aceh in
\nwhich thousands died, and lasted until 1970.<\/p>\n
After a relatively stable period, war again erupted. In 1976
\nthe Free Aceh Movement (GAM) was born and has been fighting for
\nseparatism from Jakarta to this day. It has had its ups and downs
\nand monitoring institutions record around 15,000 deaths since
\n1976. A president-appointed independent commission looking into
\nviolence in Aceh recorded 7,000 deaths alone during the military
\noperation period (1989-1998).<\/p>\n
Thus the lives of generations of Acehnese born since 1942 have
\nbeen full of conflict; people still have nightmares from their
\ntraumatic experience. In terms of human resources this is a
\nsevere negative point, as the trauma has significantly limited
\nthe Acehnese in terms of their education and ability to
\ncompete ...<\/p>\n
So we can imagine that with further violence seemingly
\ninevitable as the military plans new operations, another
\ngeneration could be lost and the nation could lose thousands of
\npeople with great potential to contribute to the country.<\/p>\n
Current public opinion on Aceh thus mostly refers only to the
\npresent, solely from the perspective of the republic against
\nseparatists, who naturally should be destroyed. But from the
\nperspective of those living in Aceh, where the potential of those
\nwho are for the republic is still large and where Acehnese are
\nstill very proud to be called those who established the republic
\n(with their contribution such as gold, which helped among others
\nto buy the republic's first airplane) -- this sense of pride is
\nconstantly gnawed at by a stigma, often expressed in reckless,
\nsweeping statements that all Acehnese are GAM (members). While in
\nAceh they say that not all Acehnese are GAM and not all GAM are
\nAcehnese, given that there could be some outside supporting
\nelements.<\/p>\n
So, if it were well-managed, the potential of support for the
\nrepublic can be resumed; the offspring of those who died
\ndefending the republic still proudly cite why their fathers died.
\nYet this pride is neglected given the biased way of looking at
\nthe Aceh issue, which is understandable given the limited
\ncomprehension.<\/p>\n
-- Hasballah M. Saad<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/generations-of-acehnese-born-amid-war-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }