Local community members against imposition of martial law in Aceh

Local community members against imposition of martial law in Aceh

Edith Hartanto and Yogita Tahilramani, The Jakarta Post,
Lhokseumawe, Aceh

Local community members have joined the Aceh administration in
opposing the central government's plan to impose a state of
emergency in the restive province to stop decades of separatist
fighting.

The people living in the Aceh capital of Banda Aceh and remote
areas in the jungle-clad Pidie, Bireun and North Aceh regencies
are demanding a peaceful settlement to the conflict.

"We are already living in an emergency situation here. living
in fear all the time. What more of an emergency could it be for
Aceh?" said 50-year-old Imam Azra, a vendor from Bireun.

Acehnese people were just too tired to deal with the unrest,
he said.

"Here people die everyday. A chicken is worth more than a
human life. Clashes and incidents happen almost everyday all
across Aceh. Those who die end up as statistics," he said.

Imam, like any other Acehnese, has been longing for peace and
security in the province that has been torn apart by decades of
bloodshed since the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) began its quest for
independence in the 1970s.

He wished that he could open a bigger shop and that his
village would have better communication access.

"There is no phone here in Jeunib. It's ironic because Jakarta
(central government) makes such a big fuss of the state of
emergency in Aceh. All we want is the realization of government's
promises to build a prosperous Aceh. When will it ever come
true?"

Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh, the province's legislative
council, Muslim clerics and non-governmental organization
activists have turned down the central government's plan for the
imposition of a civil emergency or martial law.

Puteh said 90 percent of the Acehnese people were opposed to
any planned state of emergency.

But the government, through Coordinating Minister for
Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, said the
central government would pursue its plan to impose a state of
emergency in Aceh, arguing that the Acehnese people demanded that
GAM be dealt with firmly.

The government would decide early in August whether to impose
a state of emergency or not.

Opposition also came from Amir, a pedicap driver, who said: "I
am afraid if a civil emergency or martial law is forcibly
declared. We will not be able to work as usual because I have
read in newspapers that an emergency means a region is in
danger."

Nyak Minak, a 52-year old vegetable trader in Banda Aceh, also
expressed similar views, saying she wanted separatist fighting to
cease and urged the government to open stalled peace talks.

"The important thing to me is that there is no more violence
in Aceh, so I can sell my wares in peace and can support and
sustain my family," she said.

Talking about the government's promises to Acehnese apparently
would only revive old wounds.

One Acehnese quickly referred to former president B.J. Habibie
who in 1999 said he would make prosperity and security schemes
for Aceh, including building train tracks, schools and
infrastructure.

The government had also promised compensation for victims of
10 years of the military operation to crush rebels in Aceh, known
as DOM that ended in 1998.

"Until now thousands of DOM victims and their families are
living in poor conditions. What about the compensation, the
education or allowances that were promised to them? They are
living with deep vengeance towards the security forces," said 24-
year-old Misdawan, a student in Banda Aceh.

"Well, since when has the government kept its promises to
Aceh? Now they're busy planning a state of emergency here. Why
can't the government understand that what Aceh needs is social
welfare and strong infrastructure. We do not need military
oppression anymore. We have already had it for 10 years."

The head of Muhammadiyah's Aceh branch, Imam Suja', said that
first president Sukarno, the father of President Megawati
Soekarnoputri, failed to keep his promise to establish Aceh as a
prosperous province, in exchange for all the monies and physical
help that the Acehnese had contributed to Indonesia attaining
independence.

"What is the guarantee that Megawati will not dupe the
Acehnese like her predecessors, including Gus Dur (Abdurrahman
Wahid), (B.J.) Habibie and Soeharto?"