"Make love, not war!"

"Make love, not war!" in the troubled Aceh

Aboeprijadi Santoso Journalist Amsterdam

An Indonesian artist living in Cologne, Germany, raises anxiety over problems in his country, the "Aceh-puzzle."

"Why is it that they want to maintain the nation by fighting against our brothers and sisters?" says Yayak.

Fears have grown that the next round of talks between the government in Jakarta and the Acehnese rebels GAM (Free Aceh Movement) in Geneva may sooner or later end up with an escalation of war.

Already Jakarta hardliners' emergency calls have deepened the crisis in Aceh. Any escalation would perpetuate what is seen as New Order's habit of state violence, impoverishment and sufferings at grass root level. As a result, there is a growing alienation vis-a-vis state authorities among civil society. Three examples illustrate this perspective.

It has been argued that Southeast Asian old states actually mirror a theatre. The American anthropologist Clifford Geertz suggests, all that mattered for such states was not so much the might and power, but the great cultural and moral superiority they claimed and displayed for the sake of their own aggrandizement.

Today it seems just the other way around: It is the might and power, as exemplified by its influence, geographic scale, and military might that mark modern nation-states.

To people like Yayak, these state's businesses and symbols are irrelevant -- "it is human life that matters, isn't it?" he insists. In a very similar way, the Dutch colonial-state and the Javanese aristocrats were once seen as oppressive and irrelevant by the Blora (Central Java)-based Saminist peasants.

Yayak Iskra Ismaya, 46, an imaginative graphic-designer, painter and folklore singer, painted vigorous images of state repression and of children. He was forced to leave his hometown Yogyakarta in 1992 because he had made a calendar of Indonesia's pro-democratic struggle allegedly humiliating Mr. and Madame Soeharto.

Yet he keeps his empathy and fighting spirit alive, witnessed a war theatre in Aceh in 1989, helped aid agencies assisting children in Thailand, India and Africa, and now embarks on a popular education project (School of Free People, Perguruan Rakyat Merdeka) in Indonesia. He recently introduced his song Ciliwung Merdeka (Free Ciliwung) calling for solidarity with Jakarta's marginalized people.

Pipit Rochijat, 53, another example, is a witty ex-student, who abandoned his study in Berlin, Germany, to resist the intimidation that the Indonesian military attaches put him through in the 1980s. A prolific writer, he became well known as his essay Saya PKI atau non-PKI? (Am I PKI or non-PKI? -- referring to the outlawed Indonesian Communist Party) was translated and published by Cornell University's periodical Indonesia in 1985.

Pipit's internationally celebrated essay -- pointing to the New Order's brutal method and ugly reasoning as he describes the mid-1960s massacres in East Java's Kediri -- put him in the same niche as Yayak. He appears to suggest that the state's obsessions, like with Hitler and Stalin, could easily lead to, and be used to justify, a human tragedy.

Otto Syamsuddin Ishak, 43, articulates similar views with deep humanitarian concerns as Yayak and Pipit. A perceptive sociologist, who studied in Yogyakarta and used to live in Aceh, he focuses on injustice, repression and people's sufferings; his books on Tengku Bantaqiah killings and "Jakarta's panic" (Dari Maaf ke Panik Aceh, From Apologies to Panic over Aceh) should contribute efforts to understand present-day Aceh.

"The next Geneva meeting should at least agree on methods to control armed movements of both sides of the conflict that has victimized the civil society," he urges.

Last year he witnessed the Sept. 11 attack as he crawled in the dust of Manhattan's streets. "Even in New York, which was not a conflict area like my homeland Aceh, the security of people is no longer assured. Not the state, but the common people were being victimized. Yet, instead of human security, state security has since acquired a paramount importance. The 9/11 has pushed back the primacy of human rights," he concludes.

The values of Yayak, Pipit, and Otto -- precisely because they have themselves been victimized by the impact of a brutal state at home or abroad -- are relevant and reflect concerns on problems like Aceh and Papua.

To share their concerns is to see the problems from the victims' perspective. Few in war-torn Aceh, except the security apparatus members, would ask -- to borrow Pipit's style -- the silly question "Are you GAM or non-GAM?" The question is irrelevant since the problem obviously is not the label but the real injustice and the escalating violence. While the idea of "independent Aceh" has naturally grown from this context -- one cannot, therefore, blame the locals for that -- it is the state politicians and the military and the rebels, who were responsible for the war.

Acehnese, who grew up in the midst of the conflict since the late-1980s and become pro-independent-minded, should not be punished and forced to lick and scrap the words "referendum" and "freedom" from the wall, whilst the dictator, generals and officers, who were responsible for the atrocities, enjoy absolute impunity. The Army has in fact lost any legitimacy to be part of the solution since they have been -- and remain -- part of the problem for decades.

As a consequence, most Acehnese may by now be sympathetic to the idea of independence although this may not necessarily imply active support for the rebels. As both activists and locals in Aceh told this writer recently, the state will have to deal with not only GAM, but local independence aspiration.

For once the spirit is out of the bottle, you cannot put it back; to do so is to kill human beings that would provoke a greater tragedy. To win hearts and minds becomes increasingly critical.

Indonesia's experience with East Timor has demonstrated that its army failed to do just that. According to local human rights NGO Kontras, South Aceh -- with a concentration of migrants, reportedly a training ground for Army backed militias, and close to strong GAM bases in West Aceh -- now has the second-highest level of violence (after East Aceh). Recent arrests of foreign observers in that area may trigger Aceh, like East Timor, to be closed from the outside world. But, as the East Timor case has taught us, no bloodbaths will remain hidden behind the facade of peace talks.

Neither (Jakarta's desperate) ultimatum nor war-theatre can restore people's trust. It never did anywhere on earth. Incidentally, this is what Sri Lanka and the Tamil separatist rebels have finally realized and agreed to pursue a peace process despite the enormous gap between them.

By contrast, Indonesia's regional rebellions in the 1950s were much less threatening as the rebel-officers were disgruntled corps-fellows without popular support. Unlike today-rebels, they were seen as part and parcel of the nation rather than a security problem in a resource-rich part of what is now felt as imposed unitary state.

Unless, therefore, Jakarta generals want to risk a greater mayhem or losing Aceh, the one thing they must not do -- and the politicians should prevent -- is war. "Make love, not war!" said Yayak.

2. Korea -- New era in East Asia 2 X 30 Tokyo, Pyongyang rapproachment hopeful new era in East Asia

The Korea Herald Asia News Network Seoul

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's half-day stay in Pyongyang on Tuesday will no doubt go down in history as a diplomatic watershed. During their short, three-hour summit, the Japanese leader and his North Korean counterpart, Kim Jong-il, opened the way for not only normalizing their estranged ties of 57 years but also bringing about permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula, the Cold War's last remaining bastion. Has Koizumi's "big political gamble" paid off, then? The next few months will tell.

Most remarkable was Kim's candid recognition of the North's abduction of Japanese nationals and sincere apology for it. The bold sacrifice of political pride for realistic gain shows the dire economic straits facing the bankrupt communist country. Pyongyang's willingness to accept international demands on the issues of a missile test moratorium and nuclear inspections also reflects its desire to reopen dialogue with the United States soon. We welcome that the North appears to have finally decided to emerge from its isolationist cocoon.

But the bigger winner in this seemingly win-win package settlement should be Japan. Tokyo at least has resolved its long- harbored concerns about kidnapped citizens, while securing a greater say in regional diplomacy. What Koizumi offered in return were reparations (wrapped as economic aid) and an apology for colonization, neither of which exceeded what Japan had provided to South Korea. Most important of all for Japan, Tokyo attained all these without the help or even wholehearted endorsement of Washington.

Despite the popular appeal, the abduction issue might have been no more than a diplomatic ploy by both sides. Underneath the renewed Japanese approach to the North was Tokyo's anxiousness not to lag behind other major powers in East Asia, both politically and economically. Koizumi's call for a six-party forum of America, China, Russia and Japan, plus the two Koreas, to discuss regional security issues well reflects such a wish. Tokyo also aims to create a regional economic sphere with its development aid to the North.

The United States appears none too pleased with the latest series of political developments surrounding this divided peninsula, including Japan's "diplomatic independence" from America. So it was understandable that Washington reminded Tokyo of getting firm guarantees regarding weapons of mass destruction. But U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's assertion prior to the summit, that the North already possesses a nuclear bomb, was questionable in its intent. If such a claim were true, Washington has an obligation to present the evidence.

Although normalization talks between Tokyo and Pyongyang are to accelerate next month, the North should not be in an excessive hurry -- despite its urgent situation, including food shortages. Most of all, Pyongyang should not follow the precedent of Seoul, which failed to make Tokyo unequivocally recognize its past misdeeds on the Korean people -- thus blocking individuals from seeking reparations from the Japanese government -- in its haste to get compensation aid. The victims of such missteps are the "comfort women" and slave laborers.

Come to think of it, the tens of thousands of sex slaves, many of whom were dragged to Japanese army brothels during World War II, simply cannot be compared with a few dozen Japanese nationals abducted by North Korean agents. Pyongyang needs to be squarer in demanding indemnity and an apology from Japan in future talks. Tokyo should show political maturity commensurate with its economic power. The normalization process in the post-Cold War era must be different from that with South Korea and China decades ago.

However auspicious the start, this is no guarantee that the end will turn out well, too. Both Japan and North Korea should resist the temptation to use their diplomatic bargaining to get out of domestic difficulties. They should come to the negotiation table with a sense of mission to create a new order in Northeast Asia. Pyongyang should be more sincere on the weapons of mass destruction issue, and Japan ought not to regress to petty nationalism and militarism, as urged by its ultra-rightist groups.

Any permanent peace structure on this peninsula, however, will depend on how the United States regards North Korea and shapes their future relationship. Pyongyang has made clear its willingness to cooperate with America if only Washington drops its hostility. Now it has to back up words with deeds. The U.S. administration needs to give North Korea the benefit of doubt, even for the last time. Washington should send an envoy to Pyongyang at an early date, as it has promised, now that the Kim- Koizumi talks have ended in success.

There is no denying that President Kim Dae-jung's "sunshine policy," despite some loss of luster, was behind Japan's approach to the North. The Koreas must facilitate the reconciliation process regardless of their respective domestic political situations. The Busan Asian Games which will begin later this month may be an optimum occasion for Kim Jong-il to make a reciprocal visit. The latest developments show foreign powers, even the old colonial force, are poised to reclaim center stage on the Korean Peninsula as long as its inhabitants are mired in an outdated ideological struggle.