Govt must stop military operation in Aceh: Syafii

Govt must stop military operation in Aceh: Syafii

Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

Expressing fears of the collateral damage that would result from
a prolonged war in Aceh, Muhammadiyah chairman Ahmad Syafii
Maarif has suggested that the military stop its operation to
restore order in the province.

"If the government is not sure whether the military operation
in Aceh can be accomplished in a short time, then it should be
stopped as soon as possible. We have to look for other ways.

"We have seen that even with a military operation, the GAM
separatist movement cannot be beaten easily. They are even hiding
out," Syafii told The Jakarta Post on the phone.

The fact that only dozens of GAM fighters have been killed
during the operation and dozens of others arrested could be seen
as a sign that the war in Aceh would take a relatively long time,
he said.

"GAM is estimated to have some 5,000 members. However, up to
yesterday only 68 of them were killed. This means that it's quite
possible that the war will drag on," he said.

Syafii said a prolonged military operation in the province
could result in chaos.

With the ongoing offensive part of the government's integrated
operations in Aceh, people at present could only hope that
civilians would not be the victims.

"But, of course, it is very difficult to avoid civilian
casualties. In fact, the number of victims keeps increasing. And
once it takes too many victims, the people of Aceh will become
more antigovernment, although they may not supporters of GAM. It
will be a loss for the Indonesian government. This is what the
government has to look at," Syafii urged.

The Indonesian Military has deployed some 40,000 troops to
Aceh to quell Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels since the
government imposed martial law in Aceh on May 19.

Although the government has repeatedly stated that the
operation in Aceh to address the problems there involves a
humanitarian mission, law enforcement, restoration of provincial
administration besides the use of military force, nonmilitary
approaches to win the hearts and minds of the Acehnese people had
never been tried by the government in the first place, according
to Syafii.

"Thus, the military operation is dominant," he said.

Long before the war began, Syafii was among five national
figures who were asked by the Acehnese people to find the best
solution to the problems in the province as an alternative to the
use of military force.

Syafii was involved in last-ditch efforts to save peace in
Aceh when the government set a deadline for the rebels to accept
the unitary state of Indonesia and lay down their arms. He tried
to broker a meeting between Acehnese community leaders and
President Megawati Soekarnoputri, but the President did not
respond.

"I was told by Coordinating Minister for Security and
Political Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono just a couple of days
ago that the military operation was just a kind of shock therapy
that would be conducted in just three weeks. My question was what
if the victims are too many for the planned three weeks?" Syafii
recalled.

Susilo, according to Syafii, also told him that after three
weeks, the minister would invite a number of people to talk about
the matter behind closed doors.

"So, for the time being, let's just wait until the time comes
while observing and monitoring the situation," said Syafii, while
expressing the belief that there was always hope for solutions
through dialog.

"We have to listen to the people of Aceh who oppose the
militaristic approach."

Syafii, however, also admitted that seeking solutions through
dialog was an extremely formidable task.

"No matter how difficult it is, we have to seek solutions.
Otherwise, the war will drag on and the military personnel will
lose their mental stability and may act recklessly, and chaos
will be the end result," he said.