Post-Helsinki Aceh: No more central govt meddling<\/p>\n
Aiyub Syah
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
When the tsunami hit Aceh on the morning of Dec. 26, 2004,
\nsome 5,000 members of the Aceh community in Jakarta were
\nattending a gathering. The annual event, held in the Senayan
\nsports stadium, Jakarta, was sponsored by Taman Iskandar Muda
\n(TIM), an organization of the Acehnese in Greater Jakarta, with
\nover 60,000 members.<\/p>\n
After its ceremonial opening and a message by Central TIM
\nChairman Teuku Safli Didoh, the audience in Senayan was taken by
\nsurprise when Aceh Deputy Governor Azwar Abubakar said: \"My heart
\nis now torn between the desire to speak at this gathering and the
\nurge to immediately see the people back in Aceh. I've just been
\ninformed that a huge quake has rocked Banda Aceh this morning.\"<\/p>\n
News was circulating a few weeks after the tsunami that a
\nsettlement of the political conflict between Indonesia and the
\nFree Aceh Movement (GAM) would be negotiated in Helsinki,
\nFinland. The Acehnese were stunned by this media report, while
\nthe atmosphere of panic arising from the quake-generated waves
\ncontinued to haunt them. And they began to see their hopes rise
\nfor a speedy end to the armed violence in Aceh to make life
\neasier.<\/p>\n
With two rounds of negotiations already done, another
\nIndonesia-GAM meeting in Helsinki is due start in April. The two
\nmeetings indicated a more conciliatory attitude on the part of
\nGAM, which proposed \"self-government\". That proposal was key
\nbecause it represents a softening of their stance of \"total
\nindependence\", which remained a major hurdle in previous
\nnegotiations arranged by the Henri Dunant Center (HDC) -- and
\neventually failed in Tokyo in 2003.<\/p>\n
There was the perception on the Indonesian side that its
\nspecial autonomy offer was quite \"attractive\" in the Helsinki
\nsessions, though GAM refused to accept the term \"special
\nautonomy\". \"GAM prefers the use of 'self-government',\" said
\nBachtiar Abdullah, GAM spokesman in the Helsinki talks.<\/p>\n
Facilitated by the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI) under
\nformer Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari, the stages of
\nnegotiation seem to have made some steps forward and come under
\nthe spotlight of the world community. International press
\nattention has even been close to what it showed during the
\nnegotiation mediated by the HDC, a Geneva, Switzerland based non-
\ngovernmental organization. In December 2002, the series of
\nnegotiations produced a truce, but were abruptly discontinued in
\nMay 2003, when the government launched a military operation.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan also reaffirmed his
\ncommitment to support the peace effort in Aceh when he visited
\nAceh in January 2005.<\/p>\n
When the tsunami wrecked Aceh, various donors -- countries and
\ninstitutions -- moved fast to deliver their donations to the
\nravaged province by air, sea and land. It created a situation
\nwhere the Indonesian government was obliged to have an open
\nattitude toward humanitarian assistance from international
\ncircles.<\/p>\n
The process of Aceh's economic recovery should be based on a
\nprecondition that priority for business opportunities should be
\ngiven to local entrepreneurs and Acehnese people are fully
\ninvolved in the reconstruction process.<\/p>\n
Is this process of democratization possible in Aceh? It is not
\nsimple to build democracy. This is particularly the case when the
\nmilitary power is not yet willing to give up the political sphere
\nas a civilian domain.<\/p>\n
Where is Aceh heading in the post-tsunami and post-Helsinki
\nperiod? Will it follow any of the models of Northern Ireland, the
\nPhilippines, South Africa -- or will it continue to suffer?<\/p>\n
In a coffee stall in Ilhe Kareng, I was stunned when I heard
\nan Acehnese song by Rafly at dusk: ...Aceh meutuah, meutuah, bek
\nlhe ro darah... (courteous and noble Aceh, shed no more blood).
\nThis song offers a broad humanitarian spectrum, if implemented in
\nthe form of cessation of the armed hostilities in Aceh, by both
\nthe Indonesian military\/police and GAM.<\/p>\n
A total cease-fire is a logical offer to be agreed upon in the
\nthird round of Helsinki negotiations in April.<\/p>\n
Anyway, the existence of international mediators or
\nfacilitators should be supported to expedite the process of
\ndemocratization in Aceh. The system of local elections should be
\napplied, by involving international mediators to conduct strict
\ncontrol.<\/p>\n
It is an urgent requirement to allow independent candidates to
\ncontest in the elections if local general elections are held in
\nthe province. In this way, a democratic election system will be
\neffective. This, in turn, will serve as an entry point to build
\nAceh's future with honor and peace, shedding no more blood.<\/p>\n
A peaceful Aceh will cost the Indonesian government no
\nmilitary expenses, which can be shifted to the development of
\npeople's economy.<\/p>\n
The core of the issue is that no more top-down methods are
\napplicable in determining the leaders and people's
\nrepresentatives in Aceh. Excessive intervention by the central
\ngovernment elite in the formation of Aceh's leadership and
\ncouncil has proven to be detrimental. Now let democracy make
\nsound progress in Aceh.<\/p>\n
The writer is an independent journalist, observer of rights
\ncompliance and democracy.<\/p>",
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