Govt wastes opportunity to resolve separatism issue<\/p>\n
Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government has wasted a golden opportunity to resolve the
\nsecession issue in Aceh and Papua by failing to show goodwill to
\nthe people of the two resource-rich provinces, further
\ncomplicating the matter, an expert said.<\/p>\n
Sidney Jones of the International Crisis Group said here on
\nThursday that the government's failure to prosecute military
\npersonnel accused of human rights abuses in Aceh and its half-
\nhearted implementation of special autonomy in Papua had made it
\ndifficult to address rebellions in the two provinces.<\/p>\n
\"I believe a focus by Jakarta on establishing responsive and
\naccountable local governments in the immediate aftermath of
\n(president) Soeharto's resignation might have put a significant
\ndamper on the growth of these movements.<\/p>\n
\"And even five years later, I believe that good governance
\nremains a key to reducing the alienation of people in Aceh and
\nPapua,\" she told an international conference on conflict in the
\nAsia Pacific jointly organized by the Management of Social
\nTransformation (MOST)-UNESCO and the Indonesian Institute of
\nSciences (LIPI).<\/p>\n
Jones, however, added: \"I don't believe any of the post-
\nSoeharto governments have treated the issue seriously.\"<\/p>\n
The end of Soeharto's authoritarian rule in May 1998 saw an
\nincrease in demands for independence in the two provinces.<\/p>\n
Regarding Aceh, Jones said she had been told by local
\ncouncillors there that had the government brought one officer to
\ntrial in the period between May and December 1998, Jakarta could
\nhave generated enormous support from the Acehnese.<\/p>\n
She said the horrors of the decade-long military operation
\nzone (DOM) between 1989 and 1999 were revealed for only seven
\nmonths after Soeharto's resignation, and went no further.<\/p>\n
Under DOM, rampant human rights abuses were believed to take
\nplace and left thousands of Acehnese dead.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Papuans had put high hopes on the special autonomy
\nlaw, which would enable the province to generate much more
\nrevenue, she said.<\/p>\n
Jones said that if properly implemented and given a chance to
\nwork, the law could have produced the most responsive and
\nrepresentative government Papua had ever had.<\/p>\n
\"And even if it were implemented poorly, at least it would be
\nPapuans and the Jakarta elite responsible,\" she said.<\/p>\n
However, the Megawati Soekarnoputri government first prevented
\nthe establishment of one key institution, the Papuan People's
\nCouncil (MRP), which was central to the whole autonomy package,
\nJones said.<\/p>\n
Then, in the name of more efficient delivery of services --
\nbut in fact as an effort to weaken the independence movement --
\nit undercut the entire law by issuing an instruction last January
\nto divide the province into three, she said.<\/p>\n
By reversing autonomy, Jakarta undermined the moderate
\nintellectuals who were willing to give autonomy a chance, who
\ncould have acted as a bridge to the proindependence leaders and
\nwho probably stood the best chance of acting as advisers to the
\nautonomous government and ensuring that it acted responsibly, she
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Another speaker, professor of peace studies and 1987
\nAlternative Nobel Peace Prize winner Johan Galtung said conflict
\nin Indonesia was inevitable, due to the various differences in
\nits population.<\/p>\n
Galtung said that naturally people wanted to be run by their
\nown kind, and in such a diverse society, conflict would surely
\noccur, which now and then would lead to violence.<\/p>\n
\"The general solution for the problem is called federalism,
\nand I predict that in 10 years time we will have the Federal
\nRepublic of Indonesia,\" said Galtung, who won the Bajaj
\nInternational Award for promoting Ghandian values in 1993.<\/p>\n
He was aware that federalism was somewhat forbidden in
\nIndonesia, whereas Indonesian in fact had little knowledge about
\nfederalism.<\/p>\n
He suggested that Indonesia learn about federalism and keep an
\nmind open about it as a possible solution to overcome conflict
\nand violence in the country.<\/p>",
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