Aceh, one month after

Aceh, one month after

One month has passed since the "integrated operations" under
the auspices of a military emergency were launched to settle the
Aceh conflict once and for all, and the question has become, are
we moving closer to a solution? Judging by the latest events and
most recent statements, it is anybody's guess.

Official military statements claim progress. In military
terms, it probably means that the military has succeeded in
occupying and controlling more territory previously occupied and
controlled by the rebels. To substantiate those claims, the
military has released more figures of alleged rebels arrested,
killed, or who have surrendered. However, it is obviously
becoming increasingly difficult to independently substantiate
those claims.

The martial law administration late last week issued new
regulations on press coverage, banning the press from publishing
news items that compromised the position of the military. Even
interviews with government soldiers in the field are now subject
to strict censorship by the military command.

These new regulations are in addition to previously existing
ones that include a ban on any press coverage involving
verification or interviews with Free Aceh Movement (GAM) sources.
Balanced reporting has therefore been eclipsed by what the
government claims to be the highest priority, the national
interest.

Measuring progress is even more difficult as the targets or
goals of the so-called integrated operations have not been
clearly defined and made public from the very beginning.
Presidential Decree No. 28, dated May 18, 2003, which authorizes
these operations does not explicitly set a clear target or
specific goals, except that the martial law status has a
renewable term of six months.

TNI Chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto last week said during a
press conference that the mission would be accomplished if GAM
leaders and members surrendered. Army Chief of Staff, Gen.
Ryamizard Ryacudu, however, said that the security operation in
Aceh would be considered complete once civilians felt safe to
move about freely, rather than when all the rebels had been
subdued.

To add to the confusion, the Aceh martial law administration
has moved to end the armed conflict by offering farmland to
separatist rebels in exchange for unconditional surrender. Head
of the provincial agriculture and horticulture office Samadi
announced last Friday that the local government would provide
each GAM member who surrendered with three hectares of land.

What is really going on in this conflict-ridden province? What
actually are the targets and goals of the integrated operations,
which comprise a military component, law and order restoration,
consolidation of local government and a humanitarian component?
Obviously again, it is anybody's guess.

It is still not too late to set clear, publicly disseminated
targets and specific goals for these integrated operations.
President Megawati, who authorized the operation, should
immediately end the confusion about this matter. The House of
Representatives, which previously provided carte blanche for the
martial law administration, should withdraw this mandate and
demand accountability based on clear targets and specific goals.

This newspaper strongly believes that the solution to the Aceh
problem should put peace and justice for the people in Aceh as
the top priority in setting those targets and goals.

Pursuing peace and justice in Aceh after decades of conflict
that has killed more than 10,000 people, traumatized many more,
and displaced more than 40,000 people, is of course not an easy
job.

Military operations certainly are not an answer. First of all,
by definition, the military are trained to occupy and control,
not to pursue peace and justice. Secondly, concerning the Aceh
problem, the Indonesian military has been part of the problem for
decades, and it is hard to believe that a cause can also be the
solution.

We clearly need something much more substantial than the
above-mentioned Presidential Decree to end the suffering of the
Acehnese people. Otherwise, the remaining five months of the
martial law administration in Aceh will end up creating more
problems than it solves.