Accountability in Aceh

Accountability in Aceh

There is a common joke among government officials that
attempts to explain the supposedly assertive nature of the
Acehnese people: "When 10 Acehnese gather to work out a
consensus, they will come up with at least 11 different
opinions." That yarn reflects the impatience, and sometimes the
frustration, that central government officials and other
outsiders often endure when trying to understand and accommodate
the aspirations of the Acehnese.

On the other hand, however, as history has proved, such
impatience has often become a major source of discontent among
the Acehnese concerning the central government's attitude: In
many cases, if not most, the central government prefers to take a
top-down approach in its various development programs -- ignoring
local demands. And in truth, the rebellious province is not
alone. Many other provinces and regions have similar complaints.

Now, after more than two months of relief operations to help
the Dec. 26 tsunami victims, the war-torn province is entering a
new stage of development -- the long-term reconstruction of Aceh.
The government has finished drafting a blueprint for the
reconstruction of the province, and has started to invite some
local people to present their input for the plan.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has decided to establish a
special agency to handle the reconstruction efforts and it is
quite natural that people in the province want their own men or
women to lead it.

The government has received many complaints from the local
people who feel that they have been left out of the decision-
making process and that therefore the blueprint may not fit their
expectations. The government's patience and wisdom will be tested
once again and certainly no one hopes that the current
administration will repeat the previous government's blunders in
responding to those demands.

But it is a huge job that will need massive funding. Thanks to
the strong support of the international community, the government
has received large amounts of aid money to finance the planned
projects. This means that the government must be fully
accountable for how the budget is spent, and fully mindful that
the money comes from those countries' taxpayers.

There have been reports about many non-Acehnese, who are
currently busy lobbying government officials to win lucrative
projects. The local people of Aceh, on the other hand, think they
have the right to carry out the job, because it concerns the
reconstruction of their territory. Moreover, although the
projects may be very profitable for contractors, the
reconstruction efforts also hold a strong social and humanitarian
component.

Since most of the money comes from donations, it would be
disgraceful if the social factor is put on the back burner,
behind commercial considerations. The Acehnese must be treated as
subjects, and not merely objects of the reconstruction efforts.
For decades, the people of Aceh have suffered as Jakarta used
violence and military methods to silence the outspoken Acehnese.

This is the right time to correct those past mistakes and show
the people that, this time, they will be the real subjects of the
development efforts. Again and again we need to remind ourselves
that Indonesia has earned its international reputation as a
notoriously corrupt country. With huge amounts of money now
available for the province, it is very natural that those who
have donated the funds worry about how their money is spent.

A senior government official who is intensively involved in
the relief operations recently disclosed the government's plan to
include foreign donors in a supervisory body, which will be
established soon to monitor, from the earliest stage, the
implementation of the reconstruction work. It seems indeed a good
choice to involve the foreign donors in the job, to ensure
accountability, even though many chauvinists may regard that an
interference in Indonesia's domestic affairs.

However, when Indonesians do not even believe that the
projects will be free from corruption, is it not much better to
invite the donors to participate in the reconstruction work from
the very beginning? However, the preparations need to be carried
out immediately. The government has little time left to prove
that the reconstruction of Aceh will be accountable, both to
donors and to the people of Aceh, whose lives have been destroyed
by the tsunami.