Stop blaming others over Aceh<\/p>\n
After blaming the press, human rights groups and anyone who
\nexpresses a critical view on the military operation in Aceh as
\nobstacles to the failure of the government to speedily eliminate
\nthe Free Aceh Movement (GAM), the government has now found a new
\ngame to play: the Aceh local bureaucrats. The bureaucrats are not
\nonly seen as corrupt and unskilled but their loyalty to the
\nUnitary Republic of Indonesia is questioned too.<\/p>\n
The government boasts that the Indonesian Military (TNI) and
\nNational Police (Polri) have committed no wrongdoing during the
\nalmost four-month military operation. In other words, they are
\nnot responsible for the failure to achieve what the government
\nhad previously promised: The military operation would be a
\ncombination of military offensive, humanitarian mission and an
\nacceleration of law enforcement.<\/p>\n
Listen to what Coordinating Minister for Security and
\nPolitical Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said last Thursday:
\n"There is nothing wrong with our security troops, both the
\nmilitary and police, prosecutors and the rest of the officials
\noutside the administration."<\/p>\n
One day later, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the
\ngovernment's move to include GAM on the UN's list of terrorist
\ngroups, via the UN Security Council. Should Indonesia fail to
\nconvince the UN, we are worried that a new scapegoat will be
\nfound. The UN would be easy to blame -- as Indonesia blamed it
\nafter the defeat in the 1999 East Timor referendum -- as the
\nprimary source of the government's failure to solve Aceh problem.<\/p>\n
Although it is very difficult to obtain objective data on the
\nlatest situation in Aceh due to the severe restrictions imposed
\non the media, we can guess that the number of refugees and
\nstudents who cannot return home and go to school remains high.
\nNational media organizations refrain from sending their reporters
\nthere due to high security risks in the war-torn province.<\/p>\n
The government has deployed 35,000 TNI personnel and 14,000
\npolice to fight about 5,000 rebels. We do not have accurate data
\non GAM's real capacity but the way former Cambodian fighter Son
\nSann described the number of troops who fought against the Hun
\nSen government until the early 1990s could be indicative. "The
\ntotal number of my soldiers was much higher than you would
\nexpect, but also lower than I have often told you," he said to a
\nreporter in 1989.<\/p>\n
Back to Susilo's statement: We feel saddened that a prominent
\nfigure like this retired general still fails to see the truth, to
\nact as a mature official and to confront the harsh reality of
\nwhat is wrong with the government's strategy on Aceh. Does he
\nthink that after dismissing all bureaucrats who fail to prove
\ntheir loyalty to the nation, peace will automatically come to
\nAceh and the rebels will easily be kicked out of the province?<\/p>\n
When the Indonesian government was busy condemning the UN as
\nthe most responsible party for the decision of the majority of
\nEast Timorese people to say goodbye to their colonial ruler in
\n1999, the whole world saw us as a laughing stock. Most East
\nTimorese had no wish to remain part of us because the government
\nfailed to win their hearts and minds.<\/p>\n
The failure of the military solution in East Timor should be a
\nreminder for Indonesia not to repeat the same stupidity. Indeed,
\nthe government has vowed not to repeat the East Timor fiasco, but
\nstill we are worried that the meaning of a mistake for the
\ngovernment may be different from that in the public perception.<\/p>\n
We are afraid that President Megawati Soekarnoputri's
\ngovernment is of the view that the mistake is therefore limited
\nto President B.J. Habibie's decision to allow the East Timor
\nreferendum. What we hope the government realizes is that the
\nmistake was more about the failure of the military solution for
\nEast Timor.<\/p>\n
President Megawati could order TNI to step up its military
\noperation in Aceh, or to buy the most sophisticated weapons and
\njet fighters to kill the rebels. She could also force Acehnese
\npeople to say that they love Indonesia as much as she does. But
\nshe will never win their hearts and minds through the use of
\nforce.<\/p>\n
We do realize that the government will not be interested at
\nall in calls to halt the military approach in Aceh. Yet we are
\nconvinced that the resumption of dialog with the people and the
\nuse of peaceful means -- remember GAM is part of Aceh society --
\nis the only way to achieve a peaceful solution for the province.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/stop-blaming-others-over-aceh-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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