Aceh problem will drag on

Aceh problem will drag on

Due to a worsening security problem, Aceh, which once again is
restless, looks like it'll cause more and more headaches for the
central government. Reports coming from the country's
northernmost province show that the security situation there is
deteriorating.

Since many reports and ensuing official statements are
confusing, however, the province itself is also shrouded in
mystery. Even worse will be the coming days which do not promise
any hope either.

Lately there have been more armed clashes between military and
what it calls the "security disturbing movement". The bloody
incidents are always followed by statements, some of which are
confusing, many unpalatable for healthy stomachs. Some are plain
shocking.

The latest and most bizarre news from there is about the
government's possible delay of the general election in three Aceh
regencies for security reasons.

This followed earlier reports saying that the separatist
group, which calls itself the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), scared
poll registration officers from carrying out their job. GAM has
also seized voter registration documents from the public, reports
said.

Yesterday, reports coming in from Lhokseumawe, a preeminent
industrial town and the capital of North Aceh regency, said that
unknown assailants had set a Golkar office on fire. Golkar, the
political election machine of former president Soeharto, still
plans to contest the June polls in an effort to retain its rule.

There has also been several other poll-related incidents in
other parts of Aceh, involving unidentified groups. What menaces
people most in this situation is that they have nowhere to
complain or seek protection from GAM's activists because the
police and military are busy with self-protection ventures.

The situation looks more confusing since the provincial
administration seems to have lost touch with reality. In an
apparent reaction to an earlier tragedy in which 40 unarmed
protesters were shot dead by the military, the provincial
governor and other members of the local ruling elite issued a
joint statement on May 11 calling for residents to be "aware of
underground groups speaking about freedom for Aceh but with real
intention to abort next month's polls".

The statement is pointless because it fails to express any
regret for the cold-blooded murders or at least call for a
thorough and objective investigation into the tragedy. This
manifestation of official thoughtlessness will reduce public
respect for local authorities and will ironically widen fertile
land with the seeds of separatism.

In this situation, it is hard to foresee if the polls will
really take place in the three troubled regencies, i.e. North,
East Aceh and Pidie, because there is really no light at the end
of the tunnel, even if there is no tunnel to be found.

The delay -- which will only cause self-humiliation throughout
the vast archipelago -- will show the naked failure of the
authorities in handling the Aceh problem. It will further tarnish
the image of President B. J. Habibie's government in the province
and ironically, will make GAM feel victorious.

We only hope that the government will learn from past
experiences that it never was able to solve Aceh's problems
through a military approach in the province, in which more than
1,000 people were brutally tortured or killed and hundreds of
women raped.