New ID requirements add more misery for Acehnese

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Lhokseumawe, Aceh

Tengku Hanafi, 65, was back at the Baktiya district office in North Aceh for the seventh time this week desperately inquiring as to when he could get his new red-and-white identity card.

As with other Indonesian sexagenarians, Hanafi, a resident of Matang Reudeup hamlet, actually no longer needs to renew his ID card, a privilege he was already aware of.

"I'm afraid because I'm always asked to produce the new ID every time I go through a security checkpoint," he said explaining why he had applied for a red-and-white ID card, the type that has been made mandatory for Acehnese since early in the military operation against Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels.

Another applicant, 26-year-old Rusli Jasmani of Matang Pineung hamlet, expressed similar fears.

"On my way here, I was ordered to get off my bike and asked to produce my ID. I could only show the soldiers a note from the district office that my ID card was still being processed. As it had no stamp from the administration, I got a kick on the ass," he told The Jakarta Post.

The martial law administration has required Acehnese to obtain the special ID cards, which are aimed at separating civilians from GAM members.

The administration has set a deadline of July 31 for residents to obtain the new IDs, and has said it will launch a major ID operation starting Aug. 1.

An applicant must go through a long process that may take two weeks before he finally obtains the new ID card.

The ID must be signed by the chief of the district where the applicant lives, the governor and the martial law administrator.

An applicant needs to first obtain a clearance from his village chief and local military chief before the district administration will issue the card. The applicant must then submit the card to the local police station for the police chief's signature before getting the district chief's signature. Afterwards, the applicant must register his ID number with the martial law administration.

But many said a Rp 5,000 (about 60 US cents) bribe to the right person in the district administration office could considerably speed up the process.

Although the new ID cards are supposed to be free, many residents have complained about the length of time required and the extra money they have to fork out on transportation.

"We were lucky as we applied for the IDs while we were still in the refugee camp in Gede Amplah so we didn't have to go back and forth to the district office like other people," said Zainuddin, a resident of Bandar Kalifah hamlet, Alue Papeun village, Nisam district, about one hour's drive from the district administration office.

Getting the new IDs, however, by no means solves the security problems plaguing the Acehnese as GAM members are reportedly determined to thwart the new ID card arrangements.

A resident of Matang Reudeup, who was speaking on condition of anonymity, claimed that a GAM member had seized his newly issued ID card two weeks ago.

"He greeted me politely and asked me where I had been. I told him I had just been getting my new ID card. He asked me to show it and then took it off me, saying that these cards were unacceptable. So I had to get another one made," he told the Post at the Baktiya district administration offices on Thursday.

District chief Ismuhadi said that the process for those whose new IDs had been seized by GAM would be shorter as there was no need for both the civilian and the martial law administrations to screen them for possible involvement in the rebel movement.

"As of today, we have issued 5,949 new IDs out of a total of 8,000 blank cards. Thus, we can say that 60 percent of residents have obtained the new IDs," he added.

He said that as the military operation intensified and reached remote villages, more and more applicants had been coming forward in the last week. About 300 new applicants came to his office on Thursday alone, Ismuhadi said.

As for the long delays in the issuing of the new IDs, Ismuhadi explained that his office was short of staff as many officials had been warned by GAM not to report for work. In addition, his office only had six typewriters.

"I doubt if we can issue new IDs for all the residents by the end of this month, unless we get help from both the police and the military," he added.

Martial law administration spokesman Navy Col. Ditya Soedarsono said rather disingenuously that ID card checks would be held merely to ascertain whether the administration had its their duty in providing service to the public.

"The residents should not be worried about these checks. They won't face any difficulties," he said.

Try telling that to 65-year-old Hanafi.