Is a referendum necessary?

Is a referendum necessary?

From Republika

The question of Aceh, which is actually the desire of the
people in the special region of Aceh to hold a referendum, has
become more serious with the organization of what is called the
General Session of the Council of Referendum Fighters (SU-MPR) in
Banda Aceh, which attracted millions of people last week.

At first, the community thought that the demand for a
referendum was only the manifestation of the peak of the
Acehnese people's fury over the injustices they were subjected to
over the years. However, SU-MPR shows that this demand can no
longer be dropped unless some drastic alternative measures are
taken which can satisfy the Acehnese.

A referendum is an act of self-determination in which the
Acehnese, in this respect, will determine whether to continue to
be part of Indonesia or be an independent state. The method is
suitable to employ for a region which is not part of Indonesia,
for example, East Timor. This last province was integrated with
Indonesia not in a natural way; during the integration period
most of the East Timorese, and also the international community,
rejected the move.

But the condition is not applicable to Aceh. Aceh is part of
Indonesia just like the other 25 provinces. Aceh, as with many
other provinces, has been subjected to unjust practices by the
central government, in terms of the distribution of finances and
regional resources. The Acehnese also suffered greatly during the
period when Aceh was declared a military operation region and
also after the status was removed. Massacres, rapes, property
destruction were daily scenes for the people, with the
perpetrators allowed to go scot-free.

We have empathy and sympathy for the sufferings that the
Acehnese have gone through, but at the same time we hope that the
Acehnese would like to reconsider their demand for a referendum.
The administration of President Abdurrahman Wahid will
immediately issue a government regulation in lieu of a law on
immediate granting of the widest autonomy to the special region
of Aceh. Let Aceh be taken care of by the Acehnese, with the
central government left to attend to fiscal, foreign and military
matters. All regional administration apparatuses should be
replaced by an entirely new regional administration made up of
figures from SU-MPR.

USEP FATHUDIN

Jakarta