Does Aceh need a military command?

Does Aceh need a military command?

Ibnu Mat Noor, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

The planned revival of a military command in the war-torn
province of Aceh has caused controversy among the people of Aceh.
It has won support from the local elite, met strong opposition
from prodemocracy non-governmental organizations and students,
and raised deep anxiety among the majority of Acehnese.

Members of the local elite have thrown their weight behind a
plan to give more power to the government and security
authorities in the hope of restoring order and solving the
prolonged conflict in the westernmost province.

Nasir Jamil, a member of the provincial legislature's
Commission A on defense and security, understood the government's
plan to revive Iskandar Muda Military Command, which was
dissolved in 1985 because, in addition to security reasons, it
was stipulated under the regional autonomy law.

"With the revival of the military command, the military will
have full control of defense and security matters in the
province, which is expected to help the government seek a
comprehensive solution to the conflict," he told The Jakarta Post
here on Wednesday.

Governor Abdullah Puteh agreed that the military would be able
to strengthen its territorial function to tackle numerous
security problems in the province.

The military's territorial function sparked sharp criticism
from local and foreign observers when it was abused during the
Soeharto era to run the former president's repressive
administration and support the once-ruling Golkar party. The
military also abused its territorial function to maintain its
hold on strategic civilian positions in the administration.

According to Puteh, all combat soldiers deployed in the
ongoing military operation in the province should be pulled out
after the military command is revived.

However, the local elite has yet to learn that the ongoing
military operation, which has deployed 15 battalions of combat
soldiers and Police Mobile Brigade, is similar to a military
command. The current operation lead by an Army brigadier general
has also deployed heavy military equipment such as tanks, modern
firearms and elite forces similar to military commands in other
provinces.

Brig. Gen. M. Djali Jusuf, commander of the military operation
in Aceh, insisted the military would not withdraw those soldiers
already stationed there as well as all the military equipment
that has been deployed to launch the operation should the
military command be revived.

Hussaini Ibrahim, a historian from Syah Kuala University in
the city, admitted that he had had many discussions on the
proposal with many sides in the province, and that it had only
gained support from the local elite in the executive and
legislative body.

According to him, local officials supported the proposal,
which they believed would allow the military to cooperate with
informal leaders and religious figures to encourage development
in the province.

"The situation in Aceh is expected to calm down if the
military command is led by an Acehnese military official as it
was done by the late Brig. Gen. Syauman Gaharu, former and first
commander of the then-Iskandar Muda Military Command," he said.

Hussaini recalled the frequent disappointments of the Acehnese
in the past when Aceh was administratively dissolved on Aug. 17,
1950 and merged with North Sumatra and the dissolution of the
military command in 1985.

"These two events are considered as an affront to Acehnese
identity and cultural pride," he said.

Abdurrahman Yacub, a locally-known human rights activist,
lambasted the planned revival of the military command, which he
said would be used by the government to solve the Aceh issue with
repression.

"The proposal will provide yet more opportunities for the
military to intervene in Aceh's civilian matters in the future.
This will certainly make the situation in Aceh worse," he said.

He argued the situation in the province had been mounting over
the last three years because the government had, in the past,
allowed the military to use violence and carry out human rights
violations.

"As long as the government is reluctant to deal with economic
disparities and bring those accused of human rights violations to
court, the Aceh issue will no doubt continue," he said.

Abdurrahman said the government and security authorities had
misunderstood the silence of the Acehnese people over the killing
of more than 6,000 civilians during the military operation over
the last nine months.

"In addition to the trauma caused by the repressive military
operations between 1989 and 1998, most Acehnese people have to
live in fear because individual rights are not respected. They do
not fear death, but they won't die for nothing," he said.

During the ongoing military operation, at least ten Acehnese
figures have been killed. So far, no investigation into the
killings has been carried out.

Sympathy for the cause of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has
gradually increased because of the latter's commitment to
upholding economic and legal justice in the province.

Prior to reviving the military command, according to him, the
government should think about its faults and misguided policy in
the past and identify key problems in the province.

GAM has officially opposed the plan to revive the military
command for similar reasons.