Military has failed to turn Acehnese against rebels: Commander

Military has failed to turn Acehnese against rebels: Commander

The first six months of martial law in Aceh has yet to
encourage people to participate in the fight against the Free
Aceh Movement (GAM), as evident in the military's failure to
capture the rebel group's leaders. The military believes the most
wanted persons are either being harbored by or living among the
Acehnese. The Jakarta Post's correspondent in Banda Aceh, Nani
Farida, interviewed martial law administrator Maj. Gen. Endang
Suwarya on the targets of the second six-month period of martial
law.

Q: What are the flaws found in the first six months of martial
law? Are there any changes to be made in the second six-month
period?

A: Generally speaking, we will not make any changes, but there
will be some adjustments in the field. During the first six
months of martial law, we found the Acehnese people's resistance
(against GAM) remained weak, efforts toward improving the
people's welfare did not work well and law enforcement
authorities failed to capture as many rebels as we had expected.

Improvements may be made in the intelligence operation so as
to dig up all information related to the rebels.

How much has GAM been weakened during the first period? And
how much did the Acehnese people participate in the fight against
GAM?

In terms of physical composition, 55 percent of GAM's forces
has been paralyzed, and we have seized 30 percent of their arms.

The people's participation remains low -- only 32 percent of
the Acehnese population joined the resistance movement against
the rebels. We hope to raise this figure to 70 percent with the
extended martial law period.

It will take perseverance and patience to convince the people
to reject separatism, to refuse shelter to the rebels and to
become willing to report to us on the whereabouts of GAM members.

What kept the Acehnese from joining the fight against GAM?

Perhaps our soldiers in the field used an inappropriate
approach to win the people's trust. We have taken every possible
measure to boost people's participation, including the
replacement of village heads with tough military figures. If we
detected many GAM members in a particular village, we built more
security posts there.

It's not the fault of the local administration alone. Security
problems might have contributed a lot to the low level of
people's participation.

How much will the second period of martial law cost?

There will be no increase in the budget.

This doesn't concern me, as the budget has been tackled by the
leadership in Jakarta, either the office of the Coordinating
Minister for Political and Security Affairs or Indonesian
Military Headquarters.

If we need more equipment, which may be expensive, we just ask
them to procure it for us.

Some critics say martial law has destroyed Aceh.

What pitiable persons. I think we need to invite them some
time to talk about Aceh.

Regarding the general elections, do you think the martial law
will adversely affect democracy?

Aceh is in a state of conflict, everybody in the world knows
this. If the general elections cannot run 100 percent, everybody
expects this, too. But who wants to see the elections fail in
Aceh, as it did in 1999? It's better to make sure that the 2004
elections take place in some parts of the province, rather than
nowhere. We can't expect it to be perfect -- that would never
happen (in Aceh).

What are the indicators of a successful general election in
Aceh?

What is democracy? It's more important to safeguard the
elections. The elections in Aceh will be no different from those
in a country that has suffered a conflict and has fallen under UN
supervision.

We only maintain security to prevent troubles. Democracy can
still work.

People are prohibited under martial law from assembling. How
will this be applied during the campaign period?

Look, I have the authority to ban people from gathering in a
group, but I also have the authority to allow them to assemble.

Is there any possibility of easing the emergency status before
the expiry of martial law in May 2004?

I wish to see peace return to Aceh tomorrow. Everybody here
wants the conflict to end as quickly as possible. Let's hope the
martial law lasts only two additional months, not the entire six.