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.