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