Activist Suraiya wants promises fulfilled

Activist Suraiya wants promises fulfilled

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The past 12 years have hardly been normal for Suraiya
Kamaruzzaman. As a women's rights activist in conflict-torn Aceh,
intimidation and terror have been part of the 33-year-old's daily
life.

She said her telephone had been tapped on many occasions over
the past three years. Whenever she called or received a call,
there would either be threats uttered over the line, or the call
would be cut off.

"I have also received anonymous letters, direct threats and
have been picked up off the street. Our office has also been
watched," she told The Jakarta Post recently.

"The methods of intimidation could at times become altogether
more life-threatening for us activists. Some were beaten up
badly, or even shot at. And sometimes, it wasn't clear who was
carrying out all the terror. It could be either the Free Aceh
Movement (GAM) or the Indonesian Military (TNI)," Suraiya said.

However, the most difficult part was being stereotyped by the
TNI and GAM. Both see activists as "friends" of their enemies.

And that comes with the ultimate risk: death.

But Suraiya, who is unmarried, has been willing to take the
risk since she and her colleagues established Flower Aceh in
1989, an organization committed to empowering women in Aceh.

A small, thin, light-skinned woman who wears a head scarf,
Suraiya appears too pretty and vulnerable to fit the image of an
outspoken activist.

Born into a stable family (both her parents were teachers),
Suraiya started to be aware of the problems around her when she
was a student at the School of Chemical Engineering at the
University of Syiah Kuala in the capital, Banda Aceh.

At that time, the military operation zone (DOM) was imposed in
the country's westernmost province.

Many women became the target of sexual violence. If men were
branded rebels, their wives would also be kidnapped and
investigated. Horror stories abound of rape and sexual abuse of
women of all ages.

Even after the operation was stopped in late 1998, human
rights violations continued as women were used as pawns by both
sides.

"When trees were felled by GAM to block TNI personnel, women
were asked by the TNI to move the trees, blaming their husbands
for cutting them down and using the women as human shields so
that GAM wouldn't shoot at them. Many women were also placed
outside the camps for the same purpose," Suraiya said.

The issue of sexual violence was also used by both sides to
topple one another.

"Whether violence really occurs or not and by whoever, in the
end it's women who suffer the most," said Suraiya, who teaches at
her alma mater.

As of the end of last year, 300,000 people, mostly women and
children, had fled the province.

Suraiya's Flower Aceh initially aimed at improving the
financial conditions of women in Aceh by establishing small
enterprises.

They also developed health programs with traditional medicine,
as the traumatic situation leaves many of the population with
medical problems, and medicine is normally expensive.

"But eventually we realized that money doesn't necessarily
open access to other areas for women. So instead we provided
political education and knowledge about women's rights," Suraiya
said.

With her colleagues, mostly women in their 20s and 30s,
Suraiya visits villages. Sometimes they have to walk 80
kilometers as there is no transport.

These activities have led her to be placed on GAM's blacklist.
Leaflets prohibiting NGOs like Flower from entering villages have
been posted, which provides yet another obstacle for them to
continue their programs.

But her struggle, however, won her the 2001 Yap Thiam Hien
human rights award.

"I feel so surprised and touched. That no matter how little we
do, there's someone who's paying attention. It makes me realize
what a journey we've been through. It gives me new spirit,"
Suraiya said.

"But somehow, it also makes me realize how abnormal life in
Aceh has been ... how a lot of problems still remain," she said.

Suddenly, she is quiet. Her nose turns red, her eyes glisten
with tears.

Sobbing, she tells a story of a couple who were killed in
their own house early this year. The woman was a respected
midwife while her husband was a plain-clothed member of staff at
the local police station. And they were about to have dinner.

"It was their children who reported their parents' murder to
the neighbors the day after. The children were only six years old
and three years old respectively. Their mother apparently rushed
them to a room. Can you imagine them hiding under the bed ... and
then the older child covered the younger child's mouth with her
hand so the murderer wouldn't hear them? Can you imagine the
trauma they have gone through?" Suraiya shook her head, still
sobbing.

That was just one case, she said, only a small indication of
how life is no longer normal for most Acehnese.

"Intimidation, threats, terror ... Imagine that people now
have to be tactical because it could either be GAM or TNI who do
it. Or it could also be regular criminals who often take
advantage of the situation," said Suraiya.

Suraiya, like many of us, wonders why Aceh's problems remain
unsettled.

"When the military operation started in Aceh, GAM was not even
200 people while TNI consisted of tens of thousands people. But
GAM still exists. Even celebrities and reporters can meet GAM's
commander, so how come TNI doesn't know its headquarters? And
then there was the big celebrations for GAM's anniversary...I
mean, what is this?"

Suraiya suspects that the prolonged conflict continues for
some party's interest.

There was a time when Suraiya felt extremely tired and wanted
to quit the fight because of all the violations, none of which
have been investigated or brought to court.

"But I'm lucky ... My colleagues are strong and supportive and
that gives me strength," she said.

Suraiya now waits for President Megawati Soekarnoputri to
fulfill her promise to settle Aceh's problems.

"I still can't see that Megawati is concerned about women's
problems. And remember her political speech before the
presidential election? She said that if tjut nyak (a term for
Acehnese women) was a president, there wouldn't be any more tears
shed in Aceh'. Well, it is not just tears, but blood that still
flows in Aceh. And I don't even know where tjut nyak is."