'Aceh has buried special autonomy, sharia law'

'Aceh has buried special autonomy, sharia law'

Amid the ongoing military operation to quell the armed rebellion
in Aceh, it is very difficult to meet with GAM leaders. Ishak
Daud, GAM Commander for East Aceh gave an exclusive interview to
The Jakarta Post's Tiarma Siboro at his base camp in an
undisclosed area in the province recently.

Question: Why are the Acehnese people not interested in special
autonomy and sharia (Islamic law)?

Answer: Special autonomy and sharia are two things the Acehnese
people demanded almost 60 years ago and most of those who aired
those demands have already passed away, while the present
generation has forgotten it since the government rejected it.

We commenced the struggle for independence when the government
failed to fulfill its promise on the special autonomy to enable
us to manage own affairs under our own authority.

More blood will likely spill in our own homeland because the
Indonesian government wants our people to continue suffering.

Now they are only demanding freedom and want to live in peace.

Please, stop the war, terror and intimidation to avoid more
bloodshed and let them determine their own future

If Jakarta is confident that most Acehnese people are happy to
be part of Indonesia why doesn't it hold a self-determination
referendum.

Do you think that the Indonesian government has deceived the
Acehnese people?

Yes, I do. History has noted that Aceh played an important role
in fighting for Indonesia's freedom from Dutch rule and the
British and Japanese occupation.

Under the leadership of Teungku Daud Beureueh, Aceh stood
behind the newly born Republic of Indonesia.

The country's first President Sukarno even declared the
province as a capital region of Indonesia.

Indeed, founding president Sukarno, the father of President
Megawati Soekarnoputri, asked the Acehnese people to put aside a
part of their income to contribute to the country's revolution in
the 1940s to achieve advancements in all fields.

Unfortunately, Jakarta dissolved Aceh province in 1951 and put
it under North Sumatra province with Medan as the provincial
capital.

It meant, there was no more autonomy for Aceh.

Even worse, Sukarno hit the Acehnese people's heart in 1953
when he said in his campaign for Papua's integration into
Indonesia that Islam could not be taken as a state ideology for
Indonesia.

When did the armed rebellion begin?

The Acehnese people took up arms against Indonesia in 1976 under
the leadership of Hassan Tiro who at the time had just returned
from his studies in the United States, in their resistance to the
way the Indonesian government has mistreated Aceh.

Bloodshed has continued in our own land until today since tens
of thousands of innocent people have been killed and imprisoned
without trial.

GAM Commander Muzakkir Manaf and I were born during Tiro's
dream (to free Aceh from Indonesia's occupation) and we are among
thousands of people who have witnessed the Indonesian Military's
repression of Aceh over the last three decades.

Do you think GAM will win the war?

From the military point of view, the war looks imbalanced as GAM
has to face some 35,000 military personnel armed with
sophisticated war machines. But it won't kill GAM and the
independence spirit that has been internalized by all Acehnese
people. GAM will continue to exist and we have won the hearts of
the people.

Are you tired?

No, I'm not. I will never tire of fighting for our freedom
and will continue to seek international recognition from
democratic countries because we have sacrificed our lives to that
extent ... you all know how many innocent people have been
killed, our brothers, our families, our wives... and such actions
will create only pseudo peace in the province.

When did you join GAM?

I joined GAM in 1986 while I was living in Singapore. I underwent
paramilitary training in several foreign countries in 1988 and
moved to Malaysia until the Malaysian authorities deported me in
1991. I returned home to face trial and prison.

I am happy the struggle is still going on.

Where does GAM get its arms supply from?

We purchase guns from numerous parties, including certain
individuals and overseas brokers.

How do you maintain communication with GAM leaders in-exile?

I open myself to everyone, even to soldiers who frequently
contact me. We maintain telephone contact regularly to report on
the latest developments in the war. So far there is no
significant problem in communications with the exiled GAM leaders
in Sweden.

Every day our commander, Muzakkir Manaf, makes contact with
GAM's political wing in Sweden. And the instruction is clear.

Maybe they (the military) are correct in saying that we (GAM)
are currently disorganized. But in guerrilla warfare, the weaker
party should step back before it moves to strike back.