Mega signs Aceh martial law decree

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Megawati Soekarnoputri signed on Tuesday a decree extending the military operation in Aceh for another period of six months.

According to the presidential decree No. 97/2003, a copy of which was made available to The Jakarta Post, the first six-month operation had made "developments in Aceh which must be maintained and increased for the sake of the Unitary Republic of Indonesia".

However, it argued that the integrated operation must be extended because it had not yet achieved the maximum results due to the existence of "the remaining members of the armed- separatist movement of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) which has become a potential threat to the Unitary Republic of Indonesia."

The government claims that its decision to extend the military operations in Aceh is consistent with the aspirations of the Aceh residents, as well as the approval from the House of Representatives earlier this month.

Megawati also ordered for the establishment of an integrated monitoring team to "maximize the achievements of the integrated operation and prevent the leakage and violation of the operations budget."

The Ministers Industry and Trade, Energy and Mineral Resources, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Agriculture, Forestry Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises were ordered to join the existing Central Board of the Martial Law Body.

Earlier, the central board, led by Coordinating Minister for Security and Political Affairs, consisted of 15 ministers, the Indonesian Military Chief, the National Police Chief, the Attorney General, the National Intelligence Body Chief as well as the chiefs of the army, navy and air force.

The operation for economic redress has also been added for the second period of the military operations in Aceh.

The first phase of the so-called joint operation, which was launched on May 19, included humanitarian assistance, security restoration, law enforcement and the reinstatement of civil government.

It aimed at phasing out separatism in Aceh, where GAM has been fighting for independence for the resource-rich province since the 1970s.

The government, however, has from the very beginning prioritized the military offensive, making it almost impossible for other programs to be implemented.

Six months into the operation, GAM members remain strong, in spite of the deployment of around 35,000 troops and 14,000 police personnel, prompting the government to renew the operation for another six months.

Separately, a non-governmental organization urged the government to focus on non-military operations in Aceh, saying GAM no longer posed a threat to security in the war-torn province.

"Military leaders themselves have said that Acehnese rebels are no longer a threat in the province as virtually all of their strongholds have been seized," said Ifdhal Kasim, executive director of the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam), a human rights group.

"The government should stop its military operation and now focus on humanitarian operations."

According to a report by Elsam, the government was too entrenched in security restoration through military operations, and had neglected the three other operations.

The military operation itself was seen as a failure by Elsam, since it was often carried it out brutally without respect for human rights principles.

Data collected by Elsam revealed that as many as 841 Aceh rebels had been killed since the military operation began.

Meanwhile, another 348 people were killed and 125 had disappeared -- most of them civilians.

"This overall failure of the joint operation has thus resulted in rampant social problems in the region," said Ifdhal.

Among the most crucial of these social problems, according to Elsam's report, was the refugees, the neglect of children's education and the increasing number of impoverished and unemployed people.

Up until September 2003, some 38,000 people were still living in makeshift refugee camps. At least 40 percent of the refugees were children.

Meanwhile, 130,534 Acehnese students will not be able to continue their studies as their schools have been burned during the conflict. An estimated 22,000 teachers chose to leave Aceh.

The injustice in law enforcement operations, targeting mainly Aceh rebels but not military personnel allegedly involved in human rights abuses, or local officials allegedly involved in corruption in connection with humanitarian aid, was also seen as part of the government's indifference towards the people of Aceh.

"This will only hurt the feelings of the Acehnese, just like before," said Ifdhal, referring to years of implementation of the military operations zone in Aceh during the Soeharto regime, which was even extended by his successor, then president Habibie.

Elsam called for a thorough solution for Aceh, urging the government to address the root causes of the Aceh problem -- the ongoing injustice towards Aceh and its people.

"Or else, whatever the government will plan for its extension, what we will see in the end is just another failure again," said Ifdhal.