Message from Aceh

Judging by the hostile reception given to him, President B.J. Habibie failed to impress the people of Aceh during his brief peace mission to the province on Friday. This was in spite of saying Friday prayers with thousands of Acehnese at the grand mosque in Banda Aceh, holding a dialog with them afterwards, and making a public apology for past military atrocities. Habibie promised to build a railway system in the province, a longer runway for Banda Aceh's airport, offered to reimburse the funeral costs of those killed during eight years of military operations, and provide scholarships for children left orphan by these operations.

These goodwill gestures failed to sooth the anger of the Acehnese who had been at the wrong end of many military abuses. The President was booed and jeered during the dialog even as he was making those peace offerings.

Outside the mosque, thousands of students protested against his visit, and they were involved in ugly clashes with security officers. Ironically, security officers were beating students just as Habibie was making the apology for past brutal military actions. Banners and posters calling for a referendum to review the status of Aceh in the republic were displayed in various spots in Banda Aceh to make sure that their message reached Habibie. The demand for referendum was also raised by some participants during the dialog with the President.

So what went wrong with Habibie's peace mission?

His apology, whether sincere or not, did not go down well among the Acehnese people because they have heard it before. Armed Forces Commander/Minister of Defense and Security Gen. Wiranto made an apology in August when the atrocities of the nine years of military operations were coming to light. This gesture, hailed by many at first because it was unprecedented, was not followed up with prosecutions of the guilty commanders. This would have gone a long way in assuring Acehnese that the gesture was sincere and that the military truly felt remorse for its past mistakes. Instead, there were even more atrocities a few weeks later, enough to make Acehnese suspicious next time someone from Jakarta comes and offers another apology.

Habibie's gesture to channel more funds for infrastructure development and social causes went down as arrogant and insulting. He left the impression that money could wipe out the suffering the Acehnese have had to endure all this time.

The meeting with the Acehnese at the grand mosque could hardly be called a dialog. It sounded more like a monolog, with Habibie dominating the forum. A genuine dialog is only possible if every one attends as equals, without their official attributes. How could Habibie expect to have a real dialog with the Acehnese if state protocols required such a heavy security arrangement? He could not have heard the real aspirations of the Aceh people from the hundreds of guests vetted by the organizers of the meeting. The students protesting outside and demanding referendum probably reflect better the views of the Aceh people than those inside.

It would be a mistake to dismiss the demand for a referendum as representing the views of the minority. The Acehnese are not demanding a separate state, although this could the result of a referendum. They just want a vote to determine their status in this republic in view of the long history of abuses by Jakarta.

The real message they sent to Habibie on Friday was their discontent at the central government. Even Aceh Governor Syamsuddin Mahmud reflected on this last month when he suggested, uncharacteristically for a governor who was appointed by Jakarta, that Indonesia should become a federal state whereby each province had a large autonomy to manage its own affairs.

One would suspect that many other regions outside Java share the sentiments of the Aceh people. It is unclear, however, if this message is received by officials in Jakarta. The bill on regional administration now being deliberated by the House of Representatives falls short of offering real autonomy and power to the regions, while the bill on fiscal balance is blurred about the portion each region is allowed to keep from the income generated by the exploitation of natural resources in its area.

Habibie's visit to Aceh has not been entirely a waste of time. The Acehnese have sent a loud and clear message of a province unhappy with the policies and attitudes of the central administration. Whether Habibie and other officials in Jakarta realize this is another matter.