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.