Long way for Megawati to tame rebellious Aceh

Long way for Megawati to tame rebellious Aceh

SINGAPORE: Violence has become a way of life in Aceh, Indonesia's troubled north Sumatran province, and the situation is fast becoming untenable as it gets worse by the day. Just this week alone, rebels from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) staged an audacious attack on a police post in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh.

In another incident, Indonesian troops opened fire at a public minibus killing a boy and injuring three others. A provincial lawmaker was murdered. On Thursday, just two days before President Megawati Soekarnoputri visits Aceh, eight people, among them a university rector, were shot dead in separate attacks. Local legislators have fled in the face of intimidation and mounting casualties.

Clearly, there is a campaign to terrorize people in the province. The 26-year separatist war has already claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians. Clashes between government troops and the separatist rebels are a daily affair, and security is such a problem that President Megawati is not staying overnight in Banda Aceh on her trip there today. It is a telling sign of a deepening malaise. A radical change in thinking is needed if Jakarta's leaders are serious about ending Acehnese separatism.

Megawati's predecessor, former president Abdurrahman Wahid, used a conciliatory approach, but his efforts failed, partly because he was distracted. The peace talks he engaged with the rebels broke down and the military went back to its tough line last April. Alas, the Acehnese problem cannot be settled by brute force. Independence for Aceh is out of the question, but the Acehnese do have legitimate grievances which Megawati must address if she is to end the bloody conflict. Besides greater autonomy, the Acehnese demand justice and the prosecution of those responsible for gross human-rights violations in Aceh.

But Megawati is neither meeting the provincial legislators nor separatist leaders during her visit. The distrust between Jakarta and the Acehnese is palpable, and the two sides are clearly out of sync. The Indonesian government, having proscribed the GAM, has refused steadfastly to accord it any status that might legitimize its activities. But a meeting with GAM rebels, who have been fighting for an independent Islamic state since 1976, need not enhance their standing. Rather, it will underline Megawati's resolve to end the conflict by peaceful, not military, means. It would be a clear signal that it is time for the rebels to lay down their arms and resume peace talks. Both the Indonesian military and the GAM will only perpetuate the separatist war if they persist in their old ways.

For now, the Acehnese want the government troops withdrawn from the province. They want the legal proceedings against those who committed serious human-rights abuses to be speeded up. To stop the violence, there must be an immediate ceasefire. And there should be no further delay in Jakarta in releasing the funds which have been allocated under the new laws that give special autonomy to Aceh. This will help to placate the Acehnese, who feel the central government had, for too long, exploited the resource-rich province but done little to improve their lot. Acehnese activists want concrete measures from Megawati to resolve the conflict. They are right to say that her visit should not just be a public relations exercise. She had already apologized to the Acehnese for misdeeds by the military in the past three decades, but this has not satisfied them. She cannot impose peace in Aceh, but she can work for it.

-- The Straits Times/Asia News Network