No Indonesia without Aceh<\/p>\n
Lela E. Madjiah, Staff Writer, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Force won't solve Indonesia's problems in Aceh- U.S. Australia
\nconcerned about loss of life in Aceh. U.S. calls for resumption
\nof negotiations in separatist conflict.<\/p>\n
These May 20th headlines from Reuters, AFP and dpa news
\nagencies respectively reflect the view of Western governments on
\nIndonesia's crackdown on Acehnese separatist rebels.<\/p>\n
These Western views, that of the U.S. and Australia in
\nparticular, serve only to strengthen the notion of double
\nstandards adopted by many Western governments, the U.S. in
\nparticular. Witness the U.S. occupation of Iraq, despite global
\nopposition to the invasion and a lack of a UN sanction. The very
\nsame governments that are occupying Iraq are asking Indonesia not
\nto wage war to defend its sovereignty and national unity.<\/p>\n
For Indonesia, Aceh is a matter of life or death. Without
\nAceh, there is no Indonesia. Similarly, without Irian Jaya
\n(Papua) there is no Indonesia and that is why Indonesia is
\ndetermined to keep the nation intact at all costs.<\/p>\n
Aceh is different from Iraq. For the U.S. and its allies, Iraq
\nis not a matter of life or death; without invading Iraq, the U.S.
\nand its allies would still survive. That is how Indonesians see
\nthe matter and feel the U.S. and its allies have been unfair in
\ntheir demands for Indonesia to avoid war in Aceh.<\/p>\n
No government allows separatism within its borders and that is
\nthe line adopted by the Indonesian government in dealing with
\nseparatist movements in the country.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Military (TNI), too, adopts a similar view. In
\nfact, all Indonesia's men in uniform have pledged their lives for
\ntheir nation and country.<\/p>\n
There is nothing unique in this because no nation will just
\ngive up its territory without a fight. It is therefore baffling
\nthat Indonesia's struggle to maintain unity has come under fire
\nfrom the world community as reflected by the views of the U.S.
\nand its allies.<\/p>\n
In fact, countries help each other in dealing with armed
\nseparatists within their boundaries. The U.S., for example, sent
\ntroops to the Philippines to fight alongside their Filipino
\ncounterparts against the Muslim Moro rebels.<\/p>\n
Or vice versa, as in the case of Indonesia, where the U.S.
\nsupported the PRRI\/Permesta rebellion in the 1950s.<\/p>\n
History has shown that internal wars -- wars that pit two or
\nmore opposing sides within the same political and geographic unit
\n-- are terminated frequently by military victories than by
\nnegotiated settlements. Between 1940 and 1990, 55 percent of
\ninterstate wars were resolved at the bargaining table while only
\n20 percent of civil wars reached similar solutions. Instead, most
\ninternal wars ended with the extermination, expulsion or
\ncapitulation of the losing side. In fact, groups fighting civil
\nwars almost always chose to fight to the finish unless an outside
\npower stepped in to guarantee a peace agreement (Barbara F.
\nWalter, 1997).<\/p>\n
The Indonesian government has held talks with Acehnese
\nseparatists but as the recent failure in Tokyo has demonstrated,
\nno compromise could be reached because neither side is willing to
\ncompromise their stands. For Indonesia, the Unitary Republic of
\nIndonesia is a final. The Acehnese meanwhile will accept nothing
\nless than independence.<\/p>\n
Similar cases throughout history have shown that internal wars
\nend only when one of the opposing sides is completely defeated.
\nThe Acehnese separatists have waged war for the last 26 years and
\nthere seems no end to the conflict that has claimed around 10,000
\nlives, mostly civilian.<\/p>\n
The protracted war in Aceh is a drain in Indonesia's human
\nresources and finances. But most of all, it is also threatening
\nits very existence. As a British diplomat once said, \"Without
\nAceh, without Papua, there will be no Indonesia.\"<\/p>\n
This much is at stake.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/no-indonesia-without-aceh-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }