A journey to freedom

A journey to freedom

In the nine months of reform, the Armed Forces (ABRI) has
accomplished a lot.

For far too long, ABRI tried its best to avoid its
responsibility concerning genocide in Aceh. But now, finally, the
moment of truth has arrived. Recently, the Idi Cut massacre
showed to the world that ABRI has only one mission in Aceh: To
kill Acehnese. Still, it is astonishing that those who advocate
military supremacy seem willing to write off a population of more
than four million by introducing measures that restrict many
personal freedoms and institute barbaric punishment such as death
by shooting for a crowd gathered to listen to a speech.

The number of victims of this massacre was actually very high.
It was not 10 or 20, but a toll believed to be more than 100
since lots of dead bodies disappeared after the tragedy. Are
there no leaders who can courageously counter the mounting
assaults on the Acehnese population? If not, it is high time for
the Acehnese to assert themselves, by requesting that a United
Nations Peacekeeping Force comes to Aceh for the sake of its
citizens' safety.

Repressive militarism has one virtue: It kept nationalistic
passions in check. Today, with the sudden triumph of free speech,
old resentments and quarrels are resurfacing. In Indonesia,
nowhere is the problem more evident than in Aceh. In Banda Aceh,
on Feb. 5, Acehnese students held a conference on Aceh's future
for a more civilized society and agreed to demand a "referendum"
to solve Aceh's problems. They said this plan would be promoted.
"We want to form a new country, where Acehnese can live together
in peace," said one student. It might be a dangerous long march
to the promised land of freedom. But, anyhow, the most perilous
state of reform has begun.

Visionary militaristic: For a variety of reasons the policies
of military repression is no longer fashionable in the modern
world. Politicians have rediscovered that central government
officers are still deeply suspicious of Acehneses' loyalty to the
nation. Especially when the province points to the state
exploitation of Aceh's rich natural resources that has favored
Java. What these leaders fail to understand is that in a small
economy such as Aceh, progress can never be predicted on
lessening opportunities for those already dispossessed.

The central government must come to terms with the truth that
those who propose to use military action against Acehnese who
demand a referendum as a self-proclaimed argument for stability
are actually ridiculous.

These men know only too well that despite the emergence of an
Aceh separatist movement, the gross state violations of human
rights in Aceh are only comparable to an era of "Genghis Khan"
and have set the stage for a conflagration potentially more
bitter and more brutal for the Acehnese than the one that
accompanied the Japanese military occupation during World War II.
And it is dynamically strong enough for the people to set sail
for a journey to freedom.

Since ABRI cannot stop killing, what does one expect the
Acehnese to do? Count the number of family members being shot
each day? Or run off to Malaysia and get jailed for being an
illegal immigrant? Or go to a foreign country for military
training? Too many questions, and of course all these questions
exhaust any Acehnese looking for the answers.

So, it is not too hard to comprehend why the Acehnese have now
united like never before, hand in hand to support a referendum to
decide either yes or no on total separation from a country they
once loved more than their own tears, blood and soul.

NASRULLAH DAHLAWY

Lhokseumawe, Aceh