Acehnese's sense of patriotism remains low: Survey

Acehnese's sense of patriotism remains low: Survey

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Despite the Aug. 15 peace pact that is helping to restore
security in the once-restive Aceh, Acehnese devotion to the
unitary state of Indonesia remains low, according to a survey.

The Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) said that the weak sense of
patriotism was caused by various factors, such as the lingering
weak economic and political condition in the province, old wounds
from the 30 years of armed conflict and dissatisfaction at the
weak performance of the government and political institutions in
resolving various problems in Aceh.

"Public trust in the government is very low," said director of
LSI Denny J.A. at a press conference on Wednesday when revealing
the result of its latest survey conducted in Aceh on Oct. 24 to
Oct. 30.

Of the 440 respondents surveyed, only 33.5 percent have
confidence in their regional representatives, 29 percent in
provincial and regental legislatures and 24 percent in political
parties.

According to the survey, 78 percent are disappointed with the
lack of job opportunities.

Respondents blamed the economic problems such as rising prices
and high unemployment on the government's poor economic policies.

The survey also found that only 45 percent of Acehnese people
are proud to be Indonesian. It also said that only 35 percent
would be willing to go to war for the country.

"The longer the Aceh issue is neglected, the more radical
groups will emerge, and the more the province will be alienated
from the republic. This is a time bomb that could trigger more
bloodshed in the future," said Denny.

The survey comes as the central government strives to keep the
resource-rich province within the country's territory after it
reached a historic peace accord to end a bloody 30-year
independence war launched by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebel
group.

Most respondents were grateful that the peace accord had been
signed, saying that they now enjoyed a sense of security when
conducting their daily activities.

Denny, however, said that GAM thought the peace deal still
gave a chance for self-rule, a view the central government does
not share but insists that Aceh is controlled by Jakarta even
though it has been granted special autonomy.

"GAM has accepted the MOU (memorandum of understanding) as
self-rule and most Acehnese respect influential GAM leaders such
as Hasan Tiro, Bakhtiar Abdullah, Malik Mahmud and Zaini Abdullah
and listen to what they say," Denny said.

But Yudi Latif, director of the Reform Institute, said there
was still reason for optimism in Aceh, especially since some 45
percent of respondents were proud to be Indonesian and one-third
had expressed a willingness to go to war for the country despite
the 30 years of armed conflict.

"Full implementation of the peace agreement is a real
challenge for the government to restore security and speed up the
development program to win the Aceh people's hearts and minds,"
he said.

Teuku Kemal Fasha, a political analyst at Malikul Saleh
University in Lhokseumawe, North Aceh, called on all sides,
especially GAM and the government, to full-heartedly implement
the peace agreement despite the survey's result because the pact
was the result of hard work after a series of failed agreements
in the past.

"Relevant sides should practice restraint and stop campaigning
for self-government. The Acehnese want to live in safety and
under better conditions," he said.