Govt urged to focus on humanitarian operations in Aceh

Govt urged to focus on humanitarian operations in Aceh

Urip Hudiono
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta

A non-governmental organization urged the government on Tuesday
to focus on non-military operations in Aceh, saying the
separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) no longer poses a threat to
security in the war-torn province.

"Military leaders themselves have said that Acehnese rebels
are no longer a threat in the province as virtually all of their
strongholds have been seized," said Ifdhal Kasim, executive
director of the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy
(Elsam).

"The government should stop its military operation and now
focus on humanitarian operations."

The government launched on May 19 the so-called joint
operation in Aceh, where GAM rebels have been fighting for
independence for the resource-rich province since the 1970s.

The joint operation includes humanitarian assistance, security
restoration, law enforcement and the reinstatement of civil
government.

The government, however, has from the very beginning
prioritized the military offensive, making it almost impossible
for other programs to be implemented.

Six months into the operation, GAM rebels remain strong,
in spite of the deployment of around 35,000 troops and 14,000
police personnel, prompting the government to renew the operation
for another six months on Nov. 6.

According to a report by Elsam, the government was too
entrenched in security restoration through military operations,
and had neglected the three other operations.

The military operation itself was seen as a failure by Elsam,
since it was often carried out brutally without respect for human
rights principles.

Data collected by Elsam revealed that as many as 841 Aceh
rebels had been killed since the military operation began.

Meanwhile, another 348 people were killed and 125 had
disappeared -- most of them civilians.

"This overall failure of the joint operation has thus resulted
in rampant social problems in the region," said Ifdhal.

Among the most crucial of these social problems, according to
Elsam's report, was the refugees, the neglect of children's
education and the increasing number of impoverished and
unemployed people.

Up until September 2003, some 38,000 people were still living
in makeshift refugee camps. At least 40 percent of the refugees
were children.

Meanwhile, 130,534 Acehnese students will not be able to
continue their studies as their schools have been burned during
the conflict. An estimated 22,000 teachers chose to leave Aceh.

The injustice in law enforcement operations, targeting mainly
Aceh rebels but not military personnel allegedly involved in
human rights abuses, or local officials allegedly involved in
corruption of humanitarian aid, was also seen as part of the
government's indifference towards the people of Aceh.

"This will only hurt the feelings of the Acehnese, just like
before," said Ifdhal, referring to years of implementation of the
military operations zone in Aceh during the Soeharto regime,
which was even extended by his successor, then president Habibie.

Elsam called for a thorough solution for Aceh, urging the
government to address the root causes of the Aceh problem -- the
ongoing injustice towards Aceh and its people.

"Or else, whatever the government will plan for its extension,
what we will see in the end is just another failure again," said
Ifdhal.