Aceh's recent history one of mistreatment and abuse

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

After decades of struggling for independence, the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) agreed on Monday to sign a landmark peace deal with the government, raising some hopes that peace can eventually prevail in the troubled province.

But whether or not peace comes, it largely depends on how well Jakarta addresses the root causes of the Acehnese freedom struggle and restores the people's confidence in the government.

In the early years of independence, Aceh was one of the few provinces that fought against the Dutch in Indonesia's independence struggle. Acehnese entrepreneurs later bought two airplanes and donated them to the central government after then president Sukarno requested them. The two aircraft later became the country's flag carrier Garuda Indonesia.

Despite Aceh's generosity, however, Sukarno reduced Aceh in 1950 into a regency of North Sumatra province, triggering a rebellion led by Tengku Daud Beureuh in 1953. The rebellion only ended in 1956 when Jakarta reinstated its provincial status and declared it as a special region in 1959.

According to the special status, Aceh was supposed to be granted unique religious, cultural and educational provisions, but it was never implemented as agreed up on by Jakarta.

Citing economic injustice and broken promises, Hasan Tiro launched GAM on Dec. 4, 1976, just two years after one of the world's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) fields was discovered in Arun, North Aceh.

At least 12,000 people have been killed in the last 25 years, mostly innocent civilians.

Instead of addressing the root causes of the secessionist movement, then president Soeharto declared Aceh as a special military operation zone, or DOM, in 1989, a harsh and violent period that was officially ended by Soeharto's successor B.J. Habibie in 1999.

During the 10-year military operations, hundreds, or even thousands, of civilian Acehnese were killed or tortured and are still officially listed as disappeared, presumed dead. Reports of rapes against Acehnese women and other gross human rights violations also have been reported in abundance.

After the DOM status was revoked, which was accompanied by a public apology by then military chief Gen. Wiranto, the government promised to bring to justice those responsible for arbitrary killings, torture, rapes and other human rights violations, but it has yet to convict even one single high military officer.

After the forced resignation of Soeharto in May 1998, Jakarta has been seeking other ways to solve the problem. Former president Abdurrahman Wahid started the peace talks with GAM in 2000.

However, this year the military reinstated the Iskandar Muda military operational zone for Aceh and violence has risen sharply with over 1,200 killed this year alone, and Military/police presence of over 30,000 personnel.

On Jan. 1, 2001, the government introduced a special autonomy law for Aceh, under which the province is supposed to be allowed to retain up to 70 percent of the revenue from oil and gas production in addition to organizing independent elections for local administrations.

And in May this year, both sides signed another agreement in which GAM conditionally agreed upon the special autonomy status as a "starting point" for future peace talks.