Int'l group slams RI's dealings over Aceh issue

JAKARTA (JP): Analysts from the International Crisis Group said on Thursday that the Indonesian government had applied "contradictory" measures in dealing with rising insurgency in the troubled-province of Aceh.

Diarmid O'Sullivan said the current military operation launched in Aceh would be effective in reducing the number of armed civilians in the area. On the other hand, Acehnese who are not involved in the political struggle would become less confident in the government as the operation does not reflect the government's efforts to seek a peaceful solution. Most Acehnese do not see "goodwill from central government" to listen to their wish for fairer treatment and appropriate revenue sharing, he said.

Recently, the government and representatives of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) held a second round of peace talks sponsored by the Henry Dunnant Foundation in Geneva. While the talks, aimed to achieve peaceful solutions for the prolonged separatist problem, were ongoing on, violence continued in the province between Indonesian security forces and the GAM's armed wing.

The House of Representatives is also currently deliberating a bill on special autonomy, which is expected to provide another peaceful solution.

Diarmid said the government should reduce military operations while waiting for the new law on special autonomy.

"And to reduce tension, the final draft of the law should be as close as possible to those proposed by the Aceh provincial legislative council," O'Sullivan said.

Otherwise, there will be a high level of rejection in Aceh, he added.

If necessary, the government could appoint a region to become a pilot project for the implementation of the law and other regions would voluntarily take part if they saw that the new regulation could benefit them, he added.

Another analyst, Bob Lowry, strongly believed that the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the police force would be able to quell the armed wing of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) but success would not be effective to win the hearts of the Acehnese to remain under the Indonesian government.

Lowry acknowledged that in much of world history, separatism could not be settled without military deployment but he asserted that security personnel had to be "professional" in carrying out their duties in a bid to reduce the criminal actions committed by the forces against civilians.

"Many crimes such as killings and extortion carried out by military/police personnel are ignored. The reasons for these incidents often stem from the personnel's small salary. The security personnel misuse their assignment to survive economically and if possible enrich themselves," Lowry said.

Both O'Sullivan and Lowry were speaking during a discussion to launch the group's report on Aceh.

In its report, the group also recommended that the government cease offensive military operations, resume the legal process initiated by the Independent Commission on Aceh on human rights abuses, consider wider compensation for victims of military and police abuses as well as provide clear and unequivocal regulations covering the TNI and its power to search, arrest and interrogate.

ICG is an independent, multinational organization committed to strengthening the capacity of the international community to anticipate, understand and act to prevent and contain conflicts.

In a related development, due to mounting criticism of the military role in troubled Aceh, militia groups consisting of Javanese migrant settlers, had been formed to fight separatist rebels in Aceh province, where killings have topped 1,000 so far this year.

Tempo weekly reported that the military commander for Central Aceh, Lt. Col. Rochana Hardiyanto, acknowledged militia groups had been formed, but denied that they were established by the military. (emf)