Muslim figures call for peaceful solution to Aceh problems
Tiarma Siboro and Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Two noted Muslim leaders reiterated their concern about the government's plan to launch a military operation in the resource- rich province of Aceh, asking that a peace accord with local rebels be given more time to work.
Chairman of the country's second largest Muslim organization Muhammadiyah, Ahman Syafii Maarif and respected Muslim intellectual Nurcholis "Cak Nur" Madjid appealed again for a peaceful solution.
"A security approach would not solve the problem but rather would destroy the province," Syafii said on Thursday. "I met yesterday with President Megawati (Soekarnoputri) to convey my skepticism over the government's policy in Aceh."
He said the President should have given more attention to social and welfare problems in the province rather than planning a mass deployment of troops there.
The government has said it would resume its military operation amid signs that the peace deal with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) was faltering.
But according to Syafii, the peace deal has failed to take root as both sides view the deal differently.
He suggested Indonesia and GAM revise the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA) to solve the misunderstanding.
"There are crucial points in the agreement that need further evaluation and amendment," Syafii said.
He said GAM saw the COHA as the starting point for independence.
The preamble of the COHA requires GAM to accept Aceh's special autonomy status. But while GAM considers the special autonomy as a gateway to independence, Indonesia says autonomy is all it is prepared to give.
"Such differences in the way the peace deal is viewed should be seen as a beginning to continue dialog in the planned meeting to create lasting peace in the province," Syafii said.
Calls for a peaceful solution have intensified lately in reaction to the government's planned military operation.
GAM has been fighting for independence since 1976, in a war that has claimed over 10,000 lives most of whom were civilians.
The COHA marked the first breakthrough as a step toward bringing a more permanent peace to Aceh. Negotiated over a period of over two years under the auspices of the Swiss-based Henry Dunant Centre (HDC), the COHA aims to first end fighting before moving toward a political solution to the conflict.
Since the deal was signed last December, the level of violence in Aceh has dropped significantly. Life has returned to normal for many Acehnese.
Over the past few weeks, however, the implementation of COHA has ran into a wall. GAM refuses to relocate its weapons and is still campaigning for independence. Fighting should have stopped by now, yet it continues in some parts of the province.
GAM and Indonesia will meet for a Joint Council meeting in Japan on April 25, in a last ditch effort to safe the COHA.
Syafii suggested the government seek nonmilitary solutions. "Violence will never win the hearts and minds of the Acehnese," he added.
Cak Nur agreed. He said Jakarta's long mistreatment of the Acehnese had sown hatred against the government.
"Aceh has been contributing a lot to the country from its natural resources. But we have failed to make the people prosper there," he said.
"The key point is a peaceful solution. If the government insists on launching a military operation, it must be a limited one to avoid casualties among civilians," he said.
On Thursday, hundreds of Acehnese demonstrated along Jakarta main thoroughfares in rejection of the military operation. They also called on the United Nations to stop the province descending into violence.
Hidayat Nurwahid of the Welfare Justice Party (PKS), who recently orchestrated a massive antiwar rally against the United States' attack on Iraq, voiced support for a military solution in Aceh.
"The issue of Aceh is different from Iraq because in Aceh people are campaigning to separate the province from Indonesia," he said.