Military should not dominate operations

Military should not dominate operations

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Religious leaders demanded on Saturday that the government avoid
civilian fatalities in its war against the separatists in Aceh
and boost humanitarian activities in the troubled province.

They emphasized that the main purpose of the integrated
operations was "winning the hearts and minds of the Acehnese",
and not a military takeover.

"The military operation should be used to force the rebels to
surrender. Once they surrender, there is no reason (for the
troops) to shoot them down," Yusuf Muhammad, a senior leader of
the country's biggest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU),
told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

Secretary of the country's second biggest Muslim organization,
the Muhammadiyah, Goodwill Zubir, agreed with Yusuf, saying that
the government troops should avoid civilian casualties during the
operations.

He said that the integrated operations -- the humanitarian
operation, law enforcement, local governance empowerment and the
restoration of security -- should be carried out in proportion to
each other. He did not elaborate further.

Yusuf said government troops should not use "excessive action"
in the military operation in Aceh.

He added that the military operation was needed to restore
security in the province and to facilitate humanitarian
activities in the province.

The most important thing, he said, was a clear understanding
that the integrated operation was an attempt to maintain the
unitary republic of Indonesia.

A.A. Yewangoe, the chairman of the Indonesian Communion of
Churches (PGI), concurred with Goodwill, saying that the
government had to shift the focus of its operations in Aceh.

"Do not focus merely on the military operation," Yewangoe told
the Post by phone.

The three religious leaders were commenting on the concerns of
Ahmad Syafii Maarif, the chairman of the Muhammadiyah, who
suggested earlier that an increasing number of casualties would
spark antigovernment sentiment among the Acehnese even though
they were not separatist rebels.

Syafii suggested that the government stop the war and look for
alternative ways of resolving the Aceh issue peacefully.

According to one military estimate, the war had claimed 119
lives as of Friday, the eleventh day of the conflict in Aceh. At
least 92 rebels have been killed since the war began on May 19.
The death toll among civilians is still unknown.

Yewangoe suggested that the war in Aceh be stopped to prevent
more casualties. "Innocent people will be the next victims if the
war continues. We have to end the war to achieve peace," Yewangoe
added.

He said that his office would invite some religious leaders
grouped in the Moral Movement to discuss the Aceh issue. They are
Hasyim Muzadi of the NU, Syafii Maarif of the Muhammadiyah,
Cardinal Julius Darmaatmadja of the Bishops Council of Indonesia
(KWI) and noted Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid.

Before the war broke out, these religious leaders had
recommended the government avoid the conflict, but the government
ignored their recommendation.

Moreover, Goodwill suggested that the government soon
implement its humanitarian programs in the troubled province,
including rebuilding the schools and constructing shelters for
refugees.