JP\/7\/DAWN26<\/p>\n
Showdown in Aceh<\/p>\n
The Dawn
\nAsia News Network
\nKarachi<\/p>\n
The Indonesian army's full-scale offensive against the rebel
\nFree Aceh Movement (GAM) fighting a guerrilla war against Jakarta
\nfor 26 years, is not a good omen for Indonesia or the world at
\nlarge.<\/p>\n
The oil-rich province of Aceh is home to some four-and-a-half
\nmillion people, many with conservative Islamist leanings. The
\nprovincial administration, responding to the popular demand,
\nenforced the sharia last year but failed to rein in the
\nseparatists, who refused to disarm under a Japan-brokered peace
\ndeal with Jakarta in December last. The Indonesian army also
\nrefused to move back to peacetime positions, effectively stalling
\nthe implementation of the peace accord.<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri's decision to resort to
\nmilitary action now is least likely to invite much foreign
\ncriticism, as she has linked the action in Aceh with her
\ngovernment's intention to wipe out terrorists who last struck in
\nBali.<\/p>\n
Given America's "war on terror" and the obtaining global
\nsituation in its wake, this gives Megawati and her generals just
\nthe right opportunity to quell the Aceh rebellion.<\/p>\n
The rebels may have their own ideas about an Islamic system,
\nbut the lack of its enforcement under a largely secular
\nIndonesian constitution is not their main grievance against
\nJakarta. The GAM-led insurgency began as a result of popular
\ndiscontent over the Indonesian army's abuse of power and what the
\nrebels call the plunder of Aceh's natural resources.<\/p>\n
A movement for a return to an independent Aceh headed by a
\nsultan -- Aceh used to be a sultanate in the 19th century -- was
\nthus born. Later on, the rebels unfolded a bizarre vision of a
\nresurrected sultanate saying it would, over time, unite parts of
\nMalaysia and Muslim-majority islands of the Philippines in a
\nloose federation. This is an absurd idea in this day and age, and
\nunlike East Timor, has little historical, legal or moral
\njustification.<\/p>\n
The Aceh rebels seemed to know as much but used the idea as a
\nlever to gain greater political and financial autonomy. The peace
\ndeal hammered out in Tokyo last year, which promised the Acehnese
\n70 per cent of the revenue generated by the province's rich oil
\nand gas deposits as a major concession by Jakarta, was a proper
\naccord. The stumbling block, however, remained a lack of
\nconfidence between the two sides.<\/p>\n
The peace accord fell through because neither side fulfilled
\nits obligations, and because the chief Aceh leader, Mahmood
\nMalik, continued to command the loyalty of guerrillas from self-
\nimposed exile in Sweden insisting that the Indonesian army must
\npull out before the rebels disarmed.<\/p>\n
The best course for the Aceh rebels and Jakarta would be to
\ncall an immediate end to hostilities as a first confidence-
\nbuilding measure and give peace a fair chance. Indonesia is a
\ndemocracy, and while remaining within the constitutional
\nframework that calls for the country's integrity, grievances can
\nbe addressed.<\/p>\n
A united Indonesia is in the best interest of all. The country
\nhas vast natural and human resources and a growing potential for
\nbecoming a model modern Muslim nation. As for the Acehnese
\npeople, they have had enough of being caught in the crossfire
\nbetween the rebels and the security forces over the last 26
\nyears. The on-going military action and the rebels' threat of
\nlaunching counter-attacks will only add to the misery of the
\nAcehnese people.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp7dawn26-1447899208",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}