Meeting GAM halfway<\/p>\n
The government and the proindependence groups in Aceh appear
\nto have reached a deadlock even before opening any dialog to
\nresolve the crisis. The government on the one hand has firmly
\nrejected any notion of a self-determination vote in Aceh,
\nunderstandably because it fears that it would set off similar
\ndemands from other provinces. On the other hand, proindependence
\ngroups in Aceh, led by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), are
\ndemanding no less than a referendum. With both sides hardening
\ntheir positions these past few weeks, it is doubtful whether the
\nlong-awaited visit by President Abdurrahman Wahid to the
\nterritory, if and when it happens, will have any real impact.<\/p>\n
Aceh meanwhile is fast degenerating into a state of
\nlawlessness. Police have already lost control over parts of the
\nterritory as armed gangs roam around terrorizing the populace.
\nThe government is increasingly coming under pressure to send the
\nmilitary back to Aceh to restore order. But with the military
\nalready widely discredited for its past atrocities in Aceh,
\nanother military operation would further antagonize the people
\nthere. Since the Aceh problem was largely the military's undoing,
\nsending troops back there would only heighten the tension.<\/p>\n
Aceh nevertheless is desperate for a solution, and the only
\nway to find one is if both sides are willing to meet halfway. The
\ninitiative could come from President Abdurrahman, and this is
\nsomething that he could present the people with when he
\neventually travels to Aceh.<\/p>\n
Although it has firmly rejected the demand for a referendum,
\nthe government in Jakarta cannot simply turn a blind eye to the
\nindependence aspirations in Aceh. The problem is how best to deal
\nwith these aspirations, which exist not only in Aceh, but also in
\nother provinces. Past regimes of course had an easy answer: send
\nin the military to quell these groups. But our unhappy
\nexperiences in East Timor, Aceh and Irian Jaya should have told
\nus by now that a military option is not a solution at all. In the
\ncase of Aceh, we can no longer accept the lost of another life
\nthrough a military operation.<\/p>\n
The best and most effective way of dealing with separatist
\naspirations is to make some political accommodations. We could
\nlet these people form political parties that would fight for
\ntheir separatist causes through the political system. GAM in
\nAceh, the Free Papua Movement (OPM) in Irian Jaya, and probably
\nFretilin in East Timor, would not have taken up arms against
\nJakarta rule if their independence aspirations had found the
\nnecessary political outlets in the first place.<\/p>\n
In the case of Aceh, instead of a referendum, President
\nAbdurrahman could offer GAM the chance to turn itself into a
\npolitical party, and fight whatever causes it wishes to pick up,
\nwithin the system. That means it would have to fight in a
\ndemocratic way. The reverse is also true. Those political parties
\nwho are obsessed with preserving national unity must fight
\nthrough the system too.<\/p>\n
President Abdurrahman, however, cannot go it alone. He needs
\nto convince the House of Representatives to repeal the political
\nlaws which, because of our past blind obsession with national
\nunity, compel all political parties to be based in Jakarta. The
\nlaws, while imposing no limit on the number of political parties,
\neffectively closes off all avenues for regional aspirations which
\nJakarta-based political parties clearly cannot, or more
\nappropriately are not willing to, accommodate.<\/p>\n
The current decentralization drive, while laudable, is limited
\nto giving autonomy, delegating administrative tasks from the
\ncentral to the regional governments. It has not been accompanied
\nby the decentralization of power, which would give regions
\ngreater say in the way politics is managed in this country.
\nRepealing the political laws, and allowing people in the regions
\nto set up their own political parties, would go a long way toward
\naccommodating regional sentiments and discontent. The experience
\nof regional based parties in Scotland and Quebec, who are
\nfighting for separation through the political systems, shows that
\nwhile they do not speak for the entire populace, they have been
\neffective in securing concessions for their respective regions
\nfrom the central administration in London or Ottawa. Regional
\nbased political parties in Indonesia could provide a similar
\neffective check and balance on the powers of Jakarta.<\/p>\n
If and when President Abdurrahman travels to Aceh, rather than
\nmaking rhetorical speeches about national unity, he should come
\nup with a concrete proposal to break the current impasse. He
\ncould propose to deregulate the political system, and allow the
\npeople in Aceh, and all other regions, to form their own
\npolitical parties different from the ones in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
In this present era of democracy, everything that determines
\nthe future of this country must, from now on, be settled by
\ndemocratic means. Whether it is independence, regional autonomy,
\nfederalism, or even national unity and territorial integrity
\nbeing fought for, it should be fought for through ballots, and
\nnot with bullets.<\/p>",
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