Constructive approach needed for Aceh

Constructive approach needed for Aceh

By Yulius P. Hermawan

BANDUNG (JP): It is pure irony that human rights violence in
Aceh has been increasing dramatically after Aceh's status of the
Military Operation Zone (DOM) was removed by a military commander
in August 1998. The increase of sporadic resistance movements
provides a strong reason for the Indonesian Military (TNI) to
continue their operation in the so-called verandah of Mecca.

The military forces' method to overcome the resurgence of the
movement does not have a clear-cut constructive concept. Military
personnel and police brutally hunt all those suspected as leaders
and members of the movement. Hundreds of people were reportedly
killed after the removal of Aceh's military zone status.

History notes Aceh's case, as it becomes more complicated, is
one of the main errors committed by the transitional government.
President Habibie's promise to solve the problem has in fact made
people suffer more. In many respects, the case convinces them
that the promise was only a political commodity in regard to
Habibie's bid to collect public confidence.

It is regrettable that the government does not have a clear-
cut concept to build peace in Aceh, other than its principle to
defend the unity of the nation. The military approach, which
tends to be reactive rather than anticipatory, indicates the
government has no planned comprehensive method to create
stability in Aceh. We can see how brutal military personnel are
when reacting to any activity by the movement. Such an approach
is destructive as it disturbs the order of local society.

Even now, the military claims publicly that they do not see
the existence of the organized movement that is struggling for
some considerable demands. This is to say that the military is
now fighting against a group of people who are creating chaos in
some regions of the province. Such a claim sharpens the conflict
when the real movement actively escalates their open clashes
against the police and the military personnel. Their main targets
are to raise solidarity among people in Aceh as well as in other
regions of the country and to show the world that human rights
violence in Aceh is as bad as that in East Timor, Kosovo and
other countries. This is one method of resistance adopted by East
Timorese when struggling for new status.

Yet, it may not be fortunate that the public is now focusing
on the political elite's game in Jakarta. Not many people are
concerned with the ongoing bloody tragedy in the western part of
Indonesia. This helps President Habibie sustain his reluctance to
respond to escalating clashes. Meanwhile, people in Aceh cannot
hope the House of Representatives (DPR) will do something helpful
as all House members are now busy in producing new laws.

The brutal, reactive approach brings a negative impact on
political life in the future. First, the new government will face
many difficulties in investigating the wrongdoing of the past
regime as well as in conducting other state affairs. There will
be many players behind the wrongdoing who will demand government
protection, instead of facing their misdeed to create
instability.

Secondly, the Indonesian Military (TNI) will have a reasonable
argument to sustain their political role. They will demand civil
recognition of their strategic role for national security and
defense. This is a serious obstacle in the reform of the TNI's
dual function. Furthermore, the police and TNI's image have been
deteriorating after they failed to prove their new paradigm in
solving Aceh's issues. There is no change of paradigm at all.

A thorough problem-solving itinerary is a theme that the new
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) needs to focus on. The MPR
should make it the national agenda and issue a decree for an
investigation into the past regime in regard with human rights
violence in Aceh as well as in East Timor and Irian Jaya. The
human rights violation should be seen as a crucial wrongdoing in
regard to the practice of corruption, collusion and nepotism. The
completion of the MPR's mandate will be responsible to the new
government under the supervision of the DPR.

Bringing up the issue at the MPR's General Session will also
mean the MPR has the right to demand responsibility from the
current government. This will raise a new challenge for Habibie
if he wants to be elected. That is to say his ability to calm
people in Aceh will certainly affect whether the MPR will
consider his candidacy.

The military should withdraw from the battlefield and see the
players involved in the battle. The existence of the resistance
movement should be recognized. The government and the military
should not wait to do so while the organized movement grows
bigger and clashes cause more deaths and injuries. As leaders of
the movement can perform as a rational agent, they may initiate
the peaceful reconciliation.

There is no reason to fear demands for a referendum in Aceh.
It is still not too late to examine whether all the Acehnese
really wish to establish an independent country. The delay of
reconciliation will provide a chance for the movement to develop
their organization and activities and to gain national and
worldwide support. If that happens, the movement will raise their
flag in victory for leading Aceh into another bloody arena for
the world to watch.

Everyone should understand that the people's resistance in
Aceh is only one form of the manifestation of their impatience in
waiting for a concrete result to the ongoing political change. We
should not forget that all Indonesians in other places are also
waiting for the same thing. This is a logical consequence of the
grand failure of the past regime to generate welfare for the
whole nation. The difference is that each component of the nation
has their own way to express such impatience.

The writer is a lecturer on international relations at the
Parahyangan Catholic University and a member of the institute for
humanity studies, in Bandung.