Initiating security sector reform for Aceh

Andi Widjajanto, Researcher, Center for International Relations Studies, University of Indonesia, Jakarta

Societies with experience of violence are faced with many diverse tasks. In Aceh, the political and economic systems have become dysfunctional because local government has little legitimacy and the state apparatus is overcentralized, and cannot provide its citizens security and prosperity.

Thus, to foster postwar reconstruction in Aceh, attention must be centered on reforming security institutions, with close cooperation from a variety of players from politics and civil society.

The necessity to initiate security sector reform in Aceh must be seen as an integral part of a comprehensive approach to instigate a postwar reconstruction program. This program should start with a systematic attempt to eradicate local political and social instability. This instability must be seen as the result of the state's inability to project power and authority within its own borders, leaving most of its territories governmentally empty. In such a situation, Indonesia shares the following characteristics of weak states: a loss of institutional control over its borders; declining levels of GDP per capita; environmental degradation; a rise in criminal and political violence; rising ethnic, religious, linguistic and cultural hostilities in the form of internal conflicts.

The potential point of breakdown for Indonesia is the persistence of an armed, separatist rebellion, demonstrated by the ongoing rebellions in Aceh. This persistence demonstrates our inability in achieving legitimacy for our postindependence political structure, as well as continued internal weakness. Internal conflict in Aceh indicates that some possible future threats are rooted in conditions related to the increasing insecurities of long-established authoritarian regimes that have little experience in handling the complexities of a multiethnic society, pluralistic politics and market economics.

At present, the core issue of initiating reconstruction programs for postwar Aceh is the deprivatization of violence through reform of the security sector. The security sector is taken to mean all those organizations that have authority to use, or order the use of, force, or the threat of force, to protect the state and its citizens, as well as those civil structures that are responsible for their management and oversight. It includes: (a) military and paramilitary forces; (b) intelligence services; (c) police forces; (d) civil structures that are responsible for the management and oversight of the above.

This sector represents the most sensitive area within the peace-building process. The security sector is of crucial importance for instigating postwar situations, since this sector will be a decisive factor for the termination of armed conflict. Alas, this so-called security sector often represents more of an "insecurity sector" for Aceh, as it has been repeatedly responsible for repression and human rights violations. Under martial law, the military has a tendency to assume ever more new responsibilities and gain autonomy vis-a-vis the civilian authority. Civil authorities cannot set sufficient limits for a military that tends to continue to become part of the state's machinery of repression. Programs to improve the capacity of security sector forces to fulfill their legitimate functions, therefore, will have to focus on combating these negative tendencies.

Many of the problems of security sector forces are a result of their isolation from society and their lack of accountability for their activities and for the resources that they consume. A key aim of security sector reform is therefore to ensure that good governance is extended into the security sector. A well-informed and independent civil society sector (including non-governmental organizations, professional associations, independent media, research and advocacy institutions) can play a crucial role in ensuring that security sector organizations are accountable and effective by encouraging open debate, media scrutiny and academic research on the implementation of martial law in Aceh. They can also have an important role in implementing aspects of the reform agenda, especially in helping communities accept reintegration of former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) members into society.

Reintegration is the process of assimilating demobilized personnel into the economic, social and political life of the civilian community. It includes a variety of measures targeted at ex-GAM combatants, including: vocational training and formal schooling, microcredit and rehousing schemes, medical care and disablement counseling and involvement in community organizations. Demobilization refers to the process of reducing the number of military personnel within the GAM organization. It includes measures such as funding demobilization centers, providing basic provisions (food, clothing, medicine) for ex-GAM soldiers, transportation for communities and repatriation of GAM political activists from neighboring states.

Another potential target for security sector reform is the state's armed forces. The Indonesian Military (TNI) is still in charge of various aspects of internal security, while the authority and capacity of the police have tended to be weaker. In view of this, it is recommended to prepare the police better for internal state functions that have previously been performed by the Army, with the provision of resources following clearly defined criteria.

Responsible and effective police forces are a key element in security sector reform and in economic and social development. The main objective of security sector reform programs for the police sector is to create effective local and national police forces. In immediate postwar situations, security sector reform often involves a fundamental reorientation of the police from an active role in support of the military to a new role more appropriate to peacetime policing. More generally, reform requires a clear distinction between the roles of the military and police, with operational procedures and training that reflect the distinction.

A particularly important role can be played by supporting the development of a community policing system in Aceh. This system will vary according to local conditions, and it is particularly important that it should be related to indigenous Aceh concepts of social order, developed only after careful consultation with local communities.