A momentum for peace

Skeptics would be forgiven to conclude that President Megawati Soekarnoputri's visit to the conflict-ridden province of Aceh on Saturday achieved zilch. What did you expect from a six-hour visit to a province that has been ravaged by violence for more than three decades? Certainly, not miracles.

Megawati's presence did not even bring respite. Two days before her arrival, Aceh was shocked by the brutal murder of Syiah Kuala University rector Dayan Dawood. It was a reminder to everyone that the killing in Aceh continued with or without her visit, and that it would probably continue afterwards.

It would be unfair, however, to dismiss Megawati's trip to Aceh as a futile exercise. This was a visit that she should make early in her presidency, if only to send the message that this is a major national issue that she will personally tend to. No one can accuse her of neglecting the problem that all her three successors -- Soeharto, B.J. Habibie and Abdurrahman Wahid -- not only failed to address, but had even aggravated.

Megawati's trip to Aceh should be seen more as part of a block-building process toward a comprehensive resolution.

She started this process with her Independence Day address on Aug. 16 when she apologized to the people of Aceh for all the mistakes that previous administrations in Jakarta had made. She rightly repeated that apology directly to the people in Aceh, during her short trip to the province on Saturday.

As difficult and complex as the Aceh problem may seem, President Megawati has made the right gestures early in her presidency. She has also passed into law the Nangroe Aceh Darussalam bill, which not only recognizes Aceh's special place in the republic, but also grants the people there sweeping autonomy in managing their own affairs, including their own natural resources.

Saturday's visit, coming after the public apology and the special autonomy law, has at the very least kept up the momentum for peace. Her meetings with leaders representing some, but not all, political factions in Aceh, may not have gone down too well, but again, this was another gesture on her part to personally take on the Aceh problem, rather than delegating it to others.

While all these gestures have helped to maintain the momentum for peace, they are certainly not enough. The President must do more, a lot more, before she can expect to make any headway.

It is wrong to assume, as some people in Jakarta appear to have done, that the new Special Autonomy Law will be enough to appease, if not all, at least the majority of the people in Aceh, and that there is nothing more that Jakarta can do or offer.

President Megawati could, and should, promise more to the people of Aceh; first, with regard to finding a negotiated political settlement, and second, with regard to upholding justice for all the wrongs that Jakarta has committed in Aceh.

Habibie and Abdurrahman made many promises that they both failed to deliver. The last thing that the people in Aceh want to hear today is more empty promises from a new leader in Jakarta. But with or without more promises from Megawati, the Acehnese deserve nothing less than a political settlement and justice.

The search for a negotiated settlement with all the political factions in Aceh, including those who want a separate state like the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), is essential if there is going to be enduring peace. The delivery of justice -- meaning no less than meting out stiff punishment for military officers responsible for human rights atrocities in the past -- will win Megawati the trust and goodwill of the people in Aceh.

The trust and goodwill of the Acehnese are missing today. You can hardly blame them. They have been betrayed too many times. They have every right to mistrust the intentions of the leaders in Jakarta. Megawati's first and foremost task, therefore, should be to win back their trust and goodwill.

Saturday's visit, and all the other gestures from President Megawati, have helped set into motion the peace train. The task at hand now, for everyone who wants to see peace in Aceh, is to help keep this momentum alive. We have a long way to go. But we should not squander what is probably our very last chance to secure peace in Aceh and to keep the province within the republic's fold.