Govt urged to release account on Aceh's martial law<\/p>\n
Ridwan Max Sijabat
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
Political observers have called on the government to release the
\naccountability report of the one-year martial law and integrated
\nmilitary operation in Aceh, which cost over Rp 2 trillion
\n(US$229.8 million).<\/p>\n
Besides questioning the success of the military offensive,
\nthey also expressed skepticism about the viability of the state
\nof civil emergency, because the civilian administration had lost
\nconfidence of people in the province.<\/p>\n
Military analyst Indria Samego of the Indonesian Institute of
\nSciences (LIPI) and Kusnanto Anggoro of the Centre for Strategic
\nand International Studies (CSIS) said on separate occasions on
\nFriday that from the perspective of ethics, President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri had an obligation to present her accountability
\nreport before the People's Consultative Assembly, as she had
\nreceived approval from the House of Representatives to impose
\nmartial law on Aceh.<\/p>\n
\"Whether (she is) requested or not, the President should
\npresent a special report on the one-year martial law and its
\nachievements to the law-making body or the public through the
\nmass media to make it accountable and transparent,\" Indria told
\nThe Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
He regretted that the President appeared reluctant to unveil
\nan accountability report publicly or to instruct a minister or
\nthe Indonesian Military (TNI) leadership to do so before the
\nHouse.<\/p>\n
\"Both TNI Commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto and National
\nPolice chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar have been silent on the huge
\nfunds used during the martial law in Aceh,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Megawati consulted House leaders before she imposed martial
\nlaw on May 19, 2003, although the law does not require such a
\nprocedure.<\/p>\n
Kusnanto said the martial law and the military operation that
\ninvolved over 40,000 security personnel and sophisticated war
\nmachines could not be called a success, since the threat of the
\nFree Aceh Movement (GAM) still existed and its leaders remained
\nat large, while most of its weapons had not been confiscated.<\/p>\n
\"This means that despite the relatively calm situation at
\npresent, Aceh could turn tense since the remaining GAM forces --
\nwhich is likely dormant -- are regrouping to resume their
\nseparatist movement some time in the future,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Unlike Indria, Kusnanto said the military operation played a
\nmore dominant role during the martial law than the humanitarian
\nand social rehabilitation operations to improve the Acehnese
\npeople's welfare.<\/p>\n
\"Despite the decline in Aceh's status to a state of civil
\nemergency, there will be no changes because there is no clear
\nguidelines as to the chain of command between the civilian
\nadministration and the military. Besides, the Acehnese people
\nwill continue living in fear since the military operation is
\nstill going on,\" said Kusnanto.<\/p>\n
Indria suggested that the House ask for the government's
\naccountability report on the martial law, but they seemed
\nuninterested \"because most of them will finish their terms in
\nOctober\".<\/p>\n
\"The President apparently considers the Aceh problem among
\nperipheral issues while she concentrates on the July 5
\npresidential election,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Djoko Susilo, a member of the House Commission I on security,
\ndefense and foreign affairs, said the government had already
\nunveiled its account on the martial law in Aceh before the House,
\nbut that it had been conducted as a closed-door session so the
\npublic remained uniformed about the assessment.<\/p>\n
Kusnanto said the President should immediately issue a
\npresidential instruction with certain targets to regulate civil-
\nmilitary ties during the first six months of the state of civil
\nemergency.<\/p>\n
\"Besides which, the government should continue the social
\nrehabilitation operation to resettle displaced people, provide
\ncompensation to those whose families were killed during the
\nmilitary conflict, uphold social justice and resume a dialog with
\nthe rebels in an attempt to seek a comprehensive solution to the
\nAceh issue,\" he said.<\/p>",
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