Mega's planned visit to Aceh<\/p>\n
It seems inevitable that Indonesian observers would question
\nwhether it is necessary for President Megawati to personally
\nvisit the province of Aceh. Only recently a high-powered
\ngovernment mission of 10 Cabinet ministers went to the province
\nto find out what the people there really want.<\/p>\n
As we all know, the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) is demanding
\noutright independence from Indonesia. But Jakarta can only grant
\nthe province special autonomy within the republic of Indonesia.
\nGAM leaders are insisting that police and Army troops stationed
\nin the province to maintain security, law and order, be withdrawn
\nfirst before any dialog can be started. Such a precondition is
\nunacceptable to the central government, which fears that
\nwithdrawal of security troops would allow GAM extremists to
\nterrorize the neutral population.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, clashes between troops and GAM elements resulting
\nin fatalities continue to take place. Vice President Hamzah Haz's
\nvisit should have been enough to show Jakarta's goodwill. The GAM
\ncommander has told a national television interviewer bluntly that
\nhe does not see any usefulness in Megawati visiting Aceh and
\nstarting a dialog with leaders of the rebel movement so long as
\nthere are troops in the province.<\/p>\n
These views seem very far apart from each other and any
\ncompromise looks impossible to achieve. If the principle of
\nmajority rule is to be applied, it should first be known what
\npercentage wants to stay within the republic and what percentage
\nstrives for an independent Aceh state. This can be brought about
\nthrough a referendum with international supervision, an idea
\nalready rejected by the previous administration.<\/p>\n
Aceh is too precious to be given up like the former province
\nof East Timor. Both parties should in theory be satisfied with
\nthe new arrangement of greater regional autonomy where revenue
\nfrom the province can be shared under a fair deal.<\/p>\n
So rightly or wrongly, there are some analysts who do not see
\nthe urgency for Megawati to personally visit the troubled
\nprovince at the moment where hostile and armed GAM elements are
\ndifficult to control in sowing terror and unrest. There is
\nnothing that the President does not already know from the visit
\nof her Cabinet ministers and from the pro-Jakarta governor or
\nfrom the police or the military reports.<\/p>\n
Originally Megawati was to visit Aceh for a so-called fruitful
\ndialog with GAM leaders on Sept. 2, 2001. But for the plan was
\nsuddenly postponed. This seem to be a fortunate development, at
\nleast, for the time being.<\/p>\n
GANDHI SUKARDI<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/megas-planned-visit-to-aceh-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }