Aceh killings a wake up call

Aceh killings a wake up call

CANBERRA, Australia (JP): The article in a prominent
Australian weekend newspaper (Aug. 11-12) on the Julok massacre
in Aceh, North Sumatra carried the headline "Massacre a wake-up
call for new regime". But the Julok massacre was not a wake-up
call for the new Indonesian administration of President Megawati
Soekarnoputri, which is fully aware of the atrocities perpetrated
by its security forces in Aceh. Rather, it was a wake-up call for
the international community.

The massacre in East Aceh on Aug. 9 left at least 31 dead and
nine in hospital. Eyewitnesses tell of the arrival of the
military at the barracks of a plantation company in the early
morning. Workers were forced outside and their wages taken; women
and children were separated from the men. The military then
forced the men to take off their shirts and opened fire, next
turning on the women and children. Among the 31 dead were two
under the age of five and several women.

The military then proceeded to terrorize civilians in nearby
villages, accusing the men of being members of the Free Aceh
Movement (GAM, which has been fighting for independence from
Jakarta for more than 25 years). An unknown number were taken for
further "questioning" by the security forces; despite the efforts
of relatives to gain information on their whereabouts, they have
not been seen since.

Prime Minister John Howard's visit to Jakarta on Aug. 12, in
the immediate wake of this latest massacre, was the perfect
opportunity for Australia to represent the international
community's concern for human rights to President Megawati.
Instead, Prime Minister Howard engaged in what can only be
described as a dance of "Aussie mateship". He even told reporters
that "We admire the steps being undertaken by Indonesia to emerge
as a democracy".

But Indonesia is a struggling "democracy". And behind the
"mateship" being courted by the Australian government lies the
ever-present (although increasingly ignored) darker side of
Indonesian politics. The massacre in Julok was overlooked; Prime
Minister Howard chose instead to pledge that Australia would be
patient with its closest neighbor, which has so many problems to
overcome.

Perhaps Howard should have been briefed on the current
situation in Aceh prior to courting this new-found "mateship".
The results of the latest military operation, which has been
effective in Aceh since April, are to be witnessed in the likes
of Julok and many similar, albeit smaller-scale, killing sprees
undertaken by the military.

Such events are evidence of the "security solution" favored by
the military and several political elites. The political solution
which former President Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) favored, and
which Megawati says she also prefers to pursue, is nothing more
than a political game. The special autonomy package signed
recently in Jakarta allows (among other things) Aceh to keep 70
per cent of oil and gas revenue. Jakarta's perceived exploitation
of Aceh's vast oil and gas reserves has been a major factor
winning GAM sympathy in its push for independence. But it does
not address the issue of justice for those who have suffered
human rights abuses. The package is merely an agreement between
Jakarta and the Acehnese elite to whose interests it was
tailored. Meanwhile, its relevance to the horrors of the killing
fields of Aceh will be minimal.

Prime Minister Howard should be reminded that latest talks on
Aceh broke down in July and that Jakarta subsequently suspended
two joint rebel-government committees that were monitoring
security and humanitarian affairs. Six of the GAM members of this
committee, subsequently arrested, remain in custody. Moreover,
several Acehnese are being held as political prisoners, charged
under the same articles Soeharto used to silence his critics.

In addition, while Howard witnessed in Jakarta the
preparations for Indonesia's Aug. 17th Independence Day
celebrations, the Acehnese were being forced to purchase and
display the red and white flag. The district military commander
declared with pride that "90 percent of houses have the flags".

A message I received from Banda Aceh on Aug. 16 from an
activist in Banda Aceh read: "Please help us. The military is
intimidating us if we don't buy a flag but many people have
burned flags and now the military is angry. I am very afraid.
Since Megawati become Indonesia's president the condition of Aceh
has been more repressive."

Recently two mass graves have been found with a total of 57
bodies. The first was uncovered in West Aceh, the bodies
allegedly some of those taken for "further questioning" by the
military in the wake of the Julok massacre. A second grave with
nine bodies has also been found. And what of the others who were
taken that day?

Since the beginning of the year, around 1,500 people have died
in Aceh, more than half of that number since the beginning of the
new military operation in April.

Behind the facade of "democratization" lies the hand of the
military. Take, for example, the appointment of the new Attorney
General, M.A. Rachman. Bowing to pressure from the military and
some political elite, Megawati appointed to the post of Attorney
General the executive chair of the special team formed to
investigate the 1999 human rights violations in East Timor. That
team, headed by Rachman -- upon whose shoulders victims of human
rights abuses and those who campaign for accountability now pin
their hopes -- found there was insufficient evidence to prosecute
any of the high ranking officers (including former military
commander Gen. Wiranto) who were involved.

Howard was the first foreign leader to meet Megawati since she
was sworn in as president several weeks ago. He should have taken
that opportunity to register dismay at, among other things,
recent events in Aceh. Instead, his emphasis was on searching for
common ground upon which to forge closer ties with the Republic
of Indonesia.

Military ties are an inevitable part of that process. In
negotiating such ties, however, the Australian government should
be aware that the highly nationalist President Megawati will, in
the face of pressure from the military and political elites, give
the military a carte blanche to ensure the integrity of the state
against the wishes of separatist movements such as GAM.

The Howard government is moving dangerously close to being
complicit in what can only be described as a second East Timor.
In Aceh, the rule of law comes from the barrel of a gun; militia
groups armed, trained, and financed by the military have become
more apparent in recent months; the climate of fear is all-
pervasive, and the victim and fear mentality has led to an
escalation in the conflict; the social fabric for most of the
population of four million has all but disappeared; and
infrastructure has been destroyed.

Howard's government should spend time assessing "lessons
learned" and alter its policies accordingly. The courting of
"mateship" must be delayed. As in all good love stories, a good
relationship is one worth waiting for.

The writer is a researcher at the Bonn International Center
for Conversion and at the Australian National University in
Canberra.