Acehnese at Idul Fitri

Acehnese at Idul Fitri

Kornelius Purba, Staff Writer, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, purba@thejakartapost.com

In a conversation with The Jakarta Post on Thursday, Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto described the security condition in Aceh as "safe as Jakarta", especially in welcoming next week's Idul Fitri holiday -- police have guaranteed that there will be no bombing incident in Jakarta during the celebration.

Endriartono said he had ordered Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu to convey his Idul Fitri greeting -- which traditionally includes asking for forgiveness from others -- to soldiers stationed in the war-torn province and to the people of Aceh.

As the expression Mohon maaf lahir bathin (Forgive my sins, both those of the world and those within me) during the holiday is often perceived as mere courtesy, the people in Aceh are expected to take the greeting lightly to avoid more frustration.

Despite Endriartono's confidence, however, the situation in the province -- often called the Veranda of Mecca for its staunchly devout Muslim population -- is much gloomier, especially for civilians. How can civilian Muslims there enjoy even the slightest sense of peace if the two warring parties show no sign of willingness for a momentary ceasefire?

Even the country's most popular Muslim preachers, like Abdullah Gymnastiar (Aa Gym) or Zainuddin MZ, would develop a headache if they were asked to lead the Idul Fitri Ied prayers for Acehnese Muslims in their province. It is almost a mission impossible to convince the suffering people to continue their struggle for peace while keeping the sermon in line with the rhetoric of the martial law authority.

The military can take any measure they see fit to ensure that no one speaks against their policy. They have the right to arrest the preachers; a more comic measure would be to simply turn off the sound system so the preacher unwittingly continues the sermon, not realizing that his expectant congregation can't hear a word -- as often happened during the Soeharto era.

After refusing to give even a little space for the Acehnese to breathe during Ramadhan, President Megawati Soekarnoputri and the House of Representatives (DPR) proceeded to give one of the most bitter Idul Fitri presents in history this month: The extension of martial law for another six months by the President and the doubling of the military operation fund to nearly Rp 1.5 trillion, from the requested Rp 600 - Rp 700 billion by the House. TNI spokesman Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin has denied the report about the fund.

If the TNI still fails to tame Aceh -- as they have for several decades -- by June 2004, it will be difficult for them to find a new scapegoat, because the President has practically given them a blank check. Besides which, financial accountability during the military operation is at a bare minimum. The strong criticism from the TNI against corrupt civilian leaders under Governor Abdullah Puteh, oft voiced before the military operation started in May, is not heard so much now.

The easiest way to excuse their failure is by blaming other countries or organizations. Indonesia has already chastised the co-sponsors of the Tokyo Conference for the Reconstruction of Aceh -- Japan, the U.S. and the European Union -- and the World Bank for meddling in its domestic affairs.

Still, there are limits -- creatively putting al-Qaeda behind GAM will likely cause laughter, even from U.S. President George W. Bush, and the government itself retracted its earlier plan that GAM be included on the United Nations Security Council's terrorist list.

The President and the House apparently both believe that the TNI is the only savior capable of freeing 3.4 million Acehnese from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). The TNI offers the quickest and simplest way to restore peace and order in Aceh: Killing as many GAM members as possible. In so doing, the better Jakarta can control the rebellious province and be assured of the annihilation of the GAM evil, which TNI believes to be the sole source of disaster in the province.

In an apparent gesture of consolation for the Acehnese, Endiartono has replaced -- for better or for worse -- the martial law administrator. Brig. Gen. George Toisutta will soon replace Maj. Gen. Bambang Dharmono.

What message should be sent to the Acehnese now? Should we reiterate that the state is doing its best to rescue them from GAM's terror?

They will not believe any promise that comes out of the mouths of state officials, nor even those from the country's most prominent ulema.

How could they possibly believe that the government would mete out justice for human rights violators, when some Indonesian officials -- probably jokingly -- hinted that investigations into human rights violations should begin from the time of Adam?

The devout Muslims that they are, the Acehnese will celebrate this year's Idul Fitri with the hope that their condition will soon improve, although for the time being, they can only see darkness before them.