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.