Aiming for deliverable pledges in Aceh
Thursday's shooting of a well-known rector in Aceh's capital adds an even gloomier prospect to what the planned weekend presidential visit to the province could achieve. Dr. Rizal Sukma, Director of Studies at the Centre for Strategic International Studies, Jakarta, writes about what could be done.
JAKARTA (JP): Many expect that the visit by President Megawati Soekarnoputri to war-torn Aceh province will soon solve the problems there. At the same time, many also doubt that such expectations can be met. Of course, the visit will not bring an immediate end to the protracted conflict in the region. However, the visit should be seen and understood as an initial step by her government to find a comprehensive solution to the conflict. As such, the visit is critically important for the overall conflict- resolution process. It will serve as a barometer with which Jakarta's intention and ability to solve the problem will be measured, by both the domestic and international community.
It is important, therefore, that President Megawati's visit to Aceh should serve as the light at the end of the tunnel. This should begin with recognition on her part that the situation in Aceh is indeed critical and needs both serious attention and immediate action to defuse the tension. Therefore, the visit should be used not only to demonstrate a government-renewed commitment to solve the problem. As the Acehnese are now fed up with Jakarta's normative and deceptive rhetoric, such renewed commitment must also be accompanied by a "policy package", detailing concrete measures by which the problem will be solved.
President Megawati should not give the impression that her visit is no different to those of two previous presidents, B.J. Habibie and Abdurrahman Wahid. The visit should not be seen by the Acehnese as another act of empty rhetoric by Jakarta. Nor should she promise things that the government would not be able to deliver.
For example, there is no need for the President to promise any large, but irrelevant, development projects such as the construction of railways, the development of the province's Sabang resort island, or other mega projects. Those were offered by both Habibie and Abdurrahman, and they both failed to deliver. In this regard, the duration of the visit, whether several hours or several days, is not important. What is important is how she is going to use the visit as an event to unveil her government's policies and programs that will regain Acehnese trust and confidence.
There are a number of important issues that the President needs to address. First, she should once again apologize to the Acehnese on behalf of the government for past mistakes and atrocities committed by Jakarta. Second, along those lines, she should also announce that her government, one or two months after the visit, will start processing cases of human rights violations during the military operations period and beyond. Third, the President should declare the government's commitment to find a political settlement through dialog and negotiation.
The problem in Aceh, as demonstrated in the past, can no longer be solved by military means alone. However, at the same time, the President should also emphasize the need to maintain law and order in a conflict-ridden area like Aceh. To minimize possible abuses, she could also announce that the government would provide security for non-government organizations to carry out their humanitarian and non-violent advocacy activities in the province. Fourth, she could also announce that the government would, at a specific date, start the reconstruction and rehabilitation program in Aceh. Fifth, and more importantly, she could announce that she would evaluate Presidential Decree No. 4/2001 on the restoring of order in Aceh, with a view to revising it.
The list is certainly indicative, but it does address key concerns of both the domestic and international community. Within that context, Indonesia should not be overly cautious in welcoming the support of the regional and international community. Concern about a possible internationalization of the issue, especially in the sense that the problem becomes an issue for the United Nations, is perfectly legitimate in this regard. However, if the conflict drags on, with a significant amount of violence and abuse, Indonesia cannot avoid internationalization of the problem in the sense that it would become a major concern of both state and non-state actors.
If that were to happen, it is not unlikely that an East Timor scenario would develop in Aceh. The visit by President Megawati to the province can, and should, be geared towards preventing just that.