Leave the Aceh question to civilians: Religious leaders<\/p>\n
Suherdjoko
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nSemarang<\/p>\n
Noted religious leaders and Muslim scholars urged the government
\non Saturday to leave the Aceh question to civilians to avoid war
\nbetween the Indonesian military (TNI) and the Free Aceh Movement
\n(GAM).<\/p>\n
Syafii Maarif, Solahuddin Wahid and Nurcholis Madjid called on
\nthe government to pursue dialog to resolve the decades-long
\nconflict in Aceh once and for all.<\/p>\n
\"If the government insists on taking military action to settle
\nthe Aceh conflict, Aceh will be very, very bloody,\" said Syafii,
\nchairman of Muhammadiyah, the country's second largest Muslim
\norganization with about 30 million members.<\/p>\n
Although the government appointed a civilian, Wiryono
\nSastrohandoyo, as its chief negotiator in talks with GAM,
\nCoordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo
\nBambang Yudhoyono, a retired four-star general, still calls the
\nshots.<\/p>\n
Moreover, the government's representatives on the Joint
\nSecurity Committee, which is tasked with monitoring the
\nimplementation of the peace accord signed between the government
\nand GAM in December 2002, are either military or police
\npersonnel. This leaves one with the impression that the Aceh
\nquestion is a conflict between TNI and GAM.<\/p>\n
TNI and police leaders have persistently accused GAM of
\nreneging on the peace accord, pointing particularly at the
\nsecessionist movement's continued campaign for independence and
\nfailure to meet the disarmament timeline.<\/p>\n
Under the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA), GAM
\nagreed to accept the special autonomy status for Aceh as the sole
\nbasis for future dialog and lay down arms in stages until July
\n2003. The government, for its part, agreed to end all military
\noperations and reposition troops from strike positions to
\ndefensive ones. Both sides, however, have failed to comply with
\nthe agreement.<\/p>\n
The government had invited GAM to a Joint Council meeting to
\ndiscuss the violations but the rebels declined, a move that could
\nbe seen as a withdrawal from the peace deal.<\/p>\n
Susilo said earlier this week that TNI leaders would brief
\nPresident Megawati Soekarnoputri on detailed preparations for
\nmilitary operations during a limited Cabinet meeting next week.<\/p>\n
Syafii called on both the government and GAM to pursue dialog
\nto settle their differences.<\/p>\n
Syafii suggested that Megawati appoint civilians to handle the
\nAceh issue and give them full authority to resolve the problem
\nonce and for all.<\/p>\n
\"Don't appoint anyone from the military. I would choose Jusuf
\nKalla as facilitator in the Aceh conflict,\" Syafii said.<\/p>\n
Jusuf Kalla, a respected Golkar politician, is currently the
\nCoordinating Minister for People's Welfare. He, to a certain
\nextent, successfully pacified warring sides in the Maluku and
\nCentral Sulawesi provinces, where 8,000 mainly civilian Muslims
\nand Christians have died in bloody religious conflicts.<\/p>\n
Solahuddin, meanwhile, said civilians assigned to settle the
\nAceh question may join the Henry Dunant Centre (HDC), a
\nSwitzerland-based non-governmental organization that brokered the
\npeace accord signed by the government and GAM on Dec. 9, 2002.<\/p>\n
\"I think there is still time to settle the Aceh conflict
\nthrough dialog,\" said Solahuddin, a chairman of NU, the country's
\nbiggest Muslim organization with 50 million members.<\/p>\n
According to Solahuddin, who is also a deputy chairman of the
\nNational Commission for Human Rights, military operations should
\nnever be launched in Aceh.<\/p>\n
Noted Muslim scholar Nurcholis concurred with Syafii and
\nSolahuddin, saying the HDC had failed to resolve conflicts in
\nAceh.<\/p>\n
\"The government should immediately appoint civilians to handle
\nthe Aceh question. The civilians can be Acehnese holding
\npositions in Jakarta,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"Acehnese have a long, proud history of war. They fought the
\nDutch for 30 years and were never defeated,\" he warned.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/leave-the-aceh-question-to-civilians-religious-leaders-1447893297",
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