Govt wants civilian role to end war in Aceh
Muninggar Sri Saraswati and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
The government must abandon its security approach and open dialog with civilian figures to settle the Aceh conflict once and for all, a discussion has concluded.
A discussion held by non-governmental organizations under the Aceh Working Group (AWG) concluded on Tuesday that dialog involving civilian Acehnese would stop years of violence in the province.
"(The government) must change their mind-set. It has said that the operations in Aceh are aimed at winning the hearts and minds of the Acehnese people. They must not turn into merely a hunt for members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM)," said Usman Hamid, chairman of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) human rights group.
Usman said women, religious leaders, university students and the public in Aceh must be invited because of their capabilities and not because of their close ties with the government.
He also criticized the government for maintaining a large number of troops in the restive province despite its claim that GAM's strength had been reduced significantly.
Around 14,000 troops are deployed in Aceh, where GAM separatists have been fighting for independence for the resource- rich province.
Usman said the government must facilitate "a well-formulated dialog among civilian elements representing Aceh" in a bid to grasp the true aspirations of the Acehnese.
Acehnese legislator Farhan Hamid of the National Mandate Party faction and Zoemrotin K. Susilo of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) agreed that the government should conduct dialog with civilians in Aceh.
"The government must understand the expectations of Acehnese," said Farhan, adding that it must also guarantee their security.
He suggested that a national commission consisting of independent figures be established to help settle the conflict.
"The commission could gather input from the Acehnese or hold talks with GAM if necessary, but it must not be placed under any ministry ... we're afraid it would not perform well, as the government has many problems to face," Hamid said.
An ulema told a government delegation led by Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo Adi Sucipto last week to open dialog with the Acehnese to resolve the conflict, which has killed more than 15,000 people since GAM began its struggle for independence in 1976.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who took his oath of office on Oct. 20, has pledged to settle the conflict in Aceh during the first 100 days of his government.
Widodo said on Tuesday that the government was considering three options for Aceh.
"We may extend the status of civil emergency, extend it in select regencies, or lift the status but maintain security and law enforcement operations," he said.
Speaking to reporters after accompanying President Susilo in a meeting at Merdeka Palace, Widodo said the final decision would be announced on Nov. 18.
"The potential for threat remain high in the province with the presence of the separatist movement ... we are going to evaluate the situation further," Widodo said.
The retired four-star general visited Aceh last week and held talks with various community and social groups on the latest conditions in the war-torn province.