Military operations the only solution

I'm referring to the article published in The Jakarta Post on May 9, titled Military operations never achieve results.

I don't know for sure whether this is about military operations in Aceh or military operations in general in Indonesia. The military operations conducted in Indonesia are to crush law violators.

In the same newspaper, human rights campaigner Todung Mulya Lubis said separatism could not be tolerated in any country in the world, including Indonesia. Todung Mulya Lubis, what is your concrete suggestion in annihilating this separatism that cannot be tolerated?

An Acehnese legislator, Mawardi Abdullah, suggested that the government stick to the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA), because it is still valid and military actions violated People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) decree No. VI/2002, which mandates -- not orders -- the government to maintain talks with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and other elements of Aceh's society. Mawardi Abdullah did not mention on purpose that the 1945 Constitution is also still valid, whose value is higher than any law or MPR decree, let alone the CoHA. Why do we have to maintain the CoHA but let the 1945 Constitution be violated?

The situation in Aceh is getting more and more serious and GAM becomes more and more arrogant while it grows stronger every day in the sense of manpower and weaponry. According to intelligence reports, GAM has more than 5,000 fighters with about 1,900 weapons.

The present planned operation is called Comprehensive Operations, because it is not a military operation only but combined with other activities, such as improving human welfare, the stabilization of local government and law enforcement. The military operation will probably be used to protect and ensure that the other activities will go undisturbed by GAM.

It should be noted that in the past the military had succeeded in crushing all rebellious movements, such as the Communist rebellion in 1948, popularly known as the Madiun Affair, the South Maluku Separatism movement early in the 1950s, Darul Islam/Indonesian Islamic Military (DI/TII), PRRI/PERMESTA rebellions and the Communist Sept. 30, 1965 attempted coup.

All of these are evidence that military operations are needed to stop rebellious movements.

SOEGIH ARTO Jakarta