The issue of soldiers in Aceh<\/p>\n
Ridwan M. Sijabat, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Despite the memorandum of understanding (MOU) that Indonesia
\nand the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) signed in Helsinki in the middle
\nof August to end almost three decades of hostilities, child
\nsoldiers still remain a crucial issue in the war-torn province.<\/p>\n
It does seem that the military and the police in Aceh and
\nGAM's military wing are still utilizing child soldiers because in
\naddition to the absence of a strict ban on the recruitment of
\nchildren in armed conflicts, the peace agreement has yet to be
\nfully implemented.<\/p>\n
Both sides have agreed to end armed conflict, but GAM has yet
\nto disarm all its rebels as the disarmament will formally begin
\non Sept. 15 and be completed before Dec. 31, 2005. Likewise, the
\nIndonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police have not yet
\nwithdrawn their combat forces.<\/p>\n
If the peace agreement collapses as was the case in two
\nprevious pacts, the children, along with adult soldiers, will
\ncertainly take up arms again to resume their fight for Aceh's
\nindependence.<\/p>\n
For the time being, child soldiers have already laid down
\ntheir arms and joined non-combatant groups to play a role as
\nmessengers, spies and cooks for adult soldiers, who are still in
\nremote jungle areas of the province.<\/p>\n
Reliable sources at a workshop in Medan on the involvement of
\nchild soldiers in armed conflict, revealed recently that the
\nsituation in Aceh still remains uncertain since the conflicting
\nsides have yet to build mutual trust in implementing the peace
\nagreement.<\/p>\n
This condition has been worsened by the absence of thousands
\nof children in schools after their schools were burned during the
\nfirst few weeks after martial law was declared in May 2003, armed
\nconflict and destruction by the tsunami.<\/p>\n
The local military and police, which have been supported by
\narmed civilian militias, have also recruited children to play
\nnon-combatant roles as couriers so they can keep a close eye on
\nGAM movements.<\/p>\n
Acehnese children have remained at risk of being abused in and
\naffected by armed conflicts since there is an absence of serious
\nmeasures prevent such crimes against humanity.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has already ratified the 1949 Geneva Conventions and
\nthe ILO Convention No. 182 and signed the 1989 Convention of the
\nRights of the Child (CRC) and the 2000 Optional Protocol of CRC,
\nall of which guarantee children's rights not to be involved in
\nwars, but they have not showed a strong commitment yet in
\npreventing children from joining armed groups.<\/p>\n
The House of Representatives has worked on a number of
\nlegislative items, including Law No. 39 on human rights and Law
\nNo. 23\/2002 on child protection, but neither criminalizes any
\nindividuals or parties that recruit children in armed groups and
\ndeploy them in wars or violent activities.<\/p>\n
Instead of adopting the 1998 Rome Statute of the International
\nCourt of Justice, which classifies the deployment of child
\nsoldiers in wars as crimes against humanity, Indonesia has
\nalready had Law No. 26\/2000 on human rights abuse courts, but it
\ncarries light sanctions against those that use child soldiers.
\nThe law fails to criminalize the recruitment of child soldiers
\nand classifies it into the category of gross human rights abuse.<\/p>\n
Even more disturbing is that the government has jailed child
\nsoldiers, instead of returning them to their respective
\ncommunities. They have been treated like adult rebels and charged
\nwith treason against the state. Of more than 1,400 GAM prisoners
\nreceiving amnesty from the government, several dozen were
\nchildren under 18 years of age.<\/p>\n
Child soldiers and those granted amnesty are also facing a
\nbleak future since the peace treaty failed to address problems
\nrelating to the planned reintegration of children (and women)
\ninto their social community.<\/p>\n
The government's commitment to honestly resolving the Aceh
\nissue comprehensively will also be tested since the peace treaty
\nfails to address all problems relating to social reintegration
\nand rehabilitation of former rebels, including former child
\nsoldiers.<\/p>\n
According to the peace treaty, the government will make
\nefforts to help reintegrate ex-rebels into their communities and
\nallocate some farm land and money for them, but it remains
\nunclear how the social reintegration and rehabilitation will be
\nconducted on the ground. And it presumably will not grant
\nfarmland or money to children.<\/p>\n
The government should bear in mind that many children have
\njoined these armed groups mostly to take revenge against either
\nthe government or the rebels for their relatives killed in the
\nbloody, prolonged conflict. If the child soldiers are not
\nrehabilitated and reintegrated in a proper manner, they will
\nremain bitter and traumatized by the war and this could prompt
\nthem to take up arms again.<\/p>\n
Reintegration and rehabilitation are an integral part of the
\ndisarmament and demobilization of rebels and child soldiers and
\nboth must be handled with extra caution in an endeavor to build a
\npermanent peace in the province. Therefore, the government should
\nstrongly show goodwill to take necessary measures and concrete
\nsteps to deal with the adult rebels, women and children who have
\nbeen involved in the conflict.<\/p>\n
To make social reintegration and rehabilitation a success, the
\ngovernment should not just dictate all that needs to be done, but
\nshould give more of a role to the civil society groups, e.g.
\nnongovernmental organizations, religious institutions and other
\nthird parties, as was the case in Sri Lanka and the Philippines.<\/p>\n
Despite the continued armed conflict in those two countries,
\nmore than 1,800 child soldiers from the Liberation Tigers of
\nTamil Elam (LTTE) have surrendered in Sri Lanka and been
\nreintegrated into their original communities with the help of
\nreligious organizations, NGOs and UNICEF. In the Philippines, the
\ncentral government authorities have only played a small role in
\nthe reintegration process.<\/p>\n
The government should enhance cooperation with NGOs, Islamic
\nboarding schools and religious organizations to provide a
\ncomprehensive education package, including psychological
\ncounseling and peace education for ex-child soldiers, to ensure a
\nsmooth transition back to their peaceful communities.<\/p>\n
The author is a staff writer for The Jakarta Post.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-issue-of-soldiers-in-aceh-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }