Life far from normal as tensions rise in Aceh
Life far from normal as tensions rise in Aceh
Edith Hartanto and Yogita Tahilramani, The Jakarta Post,
Banda Aceh, Aceh
Banda Aceh is not a dead capital, but one could not call it
alive. Unlike major cities in Indonesia like Jakarta, Bandung,
Surabaya or even Medan, Banda Aceh has no mall.
The only shopping center in Banda Aceh, Geunta Plaza, was shut
down because nobody shopped there and its parking lot has now
become a parking lot for angkot or public minivans.
One rarely sees a taxi on the road, unlike the ubiquitous
becak (pedicabs) which are run by a motorcycle, and not pedaled
by a person as in Jakarta.
There is only one cinema in Banda Aceh near the Simpang Lima
traffic circle, and the last show each day, of the latest movie
running here currently -- an old flick called Forces of Nature
starring Sandra Bullock -- is at 7 p.m.
"This is for security reasons. I like watching movies. but it
is safer to watch one at home on video compact disks (VCDs), than
outside," said Ida, a hairdresser in Banda Aceh.
Hermanto of the People's Crisis Center, a non-governmental
organization which works on refugee problems, added that in
troubled regencies of Aceh, as the prolonged conflict sharply
increased suspicion among armed security forces, people were
unable to work in the fields freely.
"Just because they carry machetes or spades, their tools to
work in the fields, they could be considered as the enemy by the
security forces, in other words, a GAM member or a friend of GAM
members," Hermanto said, referring to the separatist Free Aceh
Movement (GAM).
Razali, the driver who took The Jakarta Post reporters around
Banda Aceh and other parts of Aceh, said driving in Aceh could be
very dangerous.
"Here you could get shot just because you drive in a car with
dark or tinted windows. Security forces think you're an enemy.
GAM will also suspect the car and think their enemies (security
officers) might be inside," Razali said.
"So the safest way is to have transparent windows. Sometimes,
this is not a guarantee. If they get suspicious and shoot, you
are gone."
Local public figures spoke of the same fears.
Aceh's Muhammadiyah leader Imam Suja' said that he and his
driver were locked in a verbal clash with officers of the elite
Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) in the Matang area of North Aceh,
simply because the driver did not slow down when passing a police
security checkpoint.
"A small matter, could have fatal consequences. We could lose
our lives over a small incident," Imam said on Saturday from
Lhokseumawe, the capital of North Aceh.
People here fear the fact that a civilian emergency could rob
them of their simple luxuries in Banda Aceh, like walking safely
to the only Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant here, for a quick
bite to eat.
The government is scheduled to decide whether to impose a
state of civil emergency, on Aug. 5, following frequent bloody
and fatal clashes in parts of Aceh on an almost daily basis.
Iqbal Farabi of the National Commission on Human Rights in
Aceh, said on Saturday that there would be curfews, and security
forces would do as they please under the "legal blanket" of this
civil emergency.
"The military will control the social, economic and political
life of civilians in Aceh with this civil emergency.
"We could be facing another crisis here," Iqbal said.