Acehnese upbeat about Susilo

Acehnese upbeat about Susilo

Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

The Acehnese, who long for change, are largely upbeat over the
inauguration of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as president, as they
believe he is more popular and more capable than his predecessor.

However, some are still skeptical over whether Susilo,
commonly known as SBY, could meet the Acehnese people's
expectations on several crucial issues in the war-torn province,
notably security, the economy and the anticorruption drive.

Umar, 23, a university student, said recently that he expected
change under the new administration. "Nothing changed under the
Megawati administration, so we hope the SBY administration could
bring a new dawn to our province," he said.

Umar hoped that Susilo could end the prolonged conflict in the
province, so that the people of Aceh could live in peace.

Aceh has been the site of a long-running separatist movement
spearheaded by Free Aceh Movement (GAM). While separatism in the
province is historically linked to Aceh's resistance against the
Dutch colonial administration, GAM has its beginnings as a low-
key grassroots revolt during the 1970s. The movement resurged and
intensified after former president Soeharto stepped down in 1998.

Under Megawati, the Indonesian government
launched a major military operation in the resource-rich province
on May 19, 2003, and imposed martial law on June 19 of the same
year after a series of failed talks. Exactly a year later on May
19, the government reduced the security status in Aceh to a state
of civil emergency.

However, sporadic gunfights have continued to this day between
GAM and the Indonesian Military (TNI).

In order to resolve the conflict, SBY must restart
negotiations with GAM, said Nasir Djamil, a House of
Representatives legislator from Aceh.

"SBY should offer amnesty for GAM members as part of a
reconciliatory effort," said Nasir.

Amal, another student, added that peace and reconciliatory
processes needed to be launched immediately.

"Hundreds of people have died who were not necessarily from
GAM. Only through peace efforts will Aceh's problems be
resolved," he said.

Nasir also expected that SBY could improve the state of the
Acehnese economy, which had been in disarray for years due to the
prolonged conflict. He said SBY should be able to create more
jobs to absorb the burgeoning unemployment in the province.

His hope is shared by Minah, 60, a vegetable seller in Aceh
Market in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh.

She hoped that the economy would become stable and grow under
Susilo, so she could make a decent living.

Besides security and economic issues, corruption is another
daunting challenge Susilo must tackle to earn the trust and
support of the Acehnese.

Political observer Rufriadi said corruption had become endemic
in Aceh that Susilo would need to begin rooting out this social
ill to boost his popularity.

Nuraini, a housewife, concurred, saying that as Megawati had
failed to combat corruption in Aceh, she put great hope in Susilo
to produce change.

"Who knows -- SBY might successfully combat corruption in
Aceh," she said.

Among the optimism is the dissentious voice of GAM, which
believes the new president -- the former chief security minister
under Megawati -- would fail to bring peace to Aceh.

"He was the architect of the martial law in Aceh, and the one
who caused the May 2003 Tokyo talks to fail," GAM Pidie spokesman
Teungku Anwar Husain told The Jakarta Post, referring to the
talks between GAM and the government facilitated by the Geneva-
based Henry Dunant Centre.

Susilo's military background has eroded GAM's confidence that
he would promote peaceful measured in resolving the conflict in
Aceh, Teungku said.