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.