One year on, little substantive progress made in Aceh

The Jakarta Post Jakarta

While the government has revoked martial law in Aceh, questions linger as to whether the one-year emergency actually achieved its purpose.

When President Megawati Soekarnoputri declared a military emergency in the country's westernmost province in mid-May 2003, she spelled out three main objectives -- the conducting of a humanitarian operation, better law enforcement and reinstating local administrations in strongholds of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). She also set a timeframe of six months to achieve all three objectives.

Overall, the so-called integrated operation was primarily aimed at stamping out the secessionist movement in Aceh, where GAM rebels have been fighting for independence for the resource-rich province since 1976. Close to 15,000 people, mostly innocent civilians, have reportedly been killed since then.

Unfortunately, however, Megawati, who once melodramatically vowed not to allow any further blood to be shed in the province, provided no yardsticks to gauge whether or not the integrated operation had achieved its target.

Arguing that a humanitarian operation would be doomed to failure if the rebels were not wiped out first, the Indonesian Military embarked on a massive military offensive involving 40,000 troops and around 14,000 police personnel, including the much-feared paramilitary Mobile Brigade (Brimob).

The military and police boasted that they would easily incapacitate the poorly-trained and ill-equipped GAM rebels, whose numbers were estimated to be around 5,200 people.

However, even before the first phase of martial law expired in mid-November, the military leadership was already appealing to the government to extend the operation for another six months. Megawati conceded and did what the generals wanted.

On Tuesday evening, Megawati, who is seeking her first full, five-year term in the July 5 direct presidential election, signed another decree ending martial law in Aceh.

After one year of relentless military pressure, the TNI claims that it has killed nearly 2,000 rebels and detained around 3,300 others, including those who voluntarily surrendered to the authorities. Inexplicable, this figure accounts for more than 100 percent of the military's original estimate of GAM's strength.

While the TNI has succeeded in reinstating local administrations at the regency and district levels in areas of GAM support, most of the people appointed as regents or district heads are serving or former military officers.

The humanitarian operation has been limited to keeping those Acehnese who were forcibly moved to refugee camps alive, and rebuilding schools allegedly burned down by GAM in the early days of the military operation there.

Noted Acehnese sociologist Otto Syamsuddin Ishak, however, said that the one year of martial law had achieved little as many Acehnese were now poorer and languishing in refugee camps.

"They are distraught at the fact that troops looted their belongings, and that rape, torture, arbitrary arrest and rampant corruption continue abated," said Otto of the Banda Aceh-based Syiah Kuala University.

He also doubted the TNI claim that it had incapacitated the secessionist movement, saying that the GAM leadership was still intact even after one year of relentless military attacks.

Otto also regretted the fact that Jakarta failed to understand the psychology of the Aceh people, saying the prolonged war had engendered hatred among the Acehnese for Jakarta.

"In 2000, I conducted a study that showed that most Acehnese young people wanted independence. Most of them have witnessed ten years of military brutality.

"We can't resolve the Aceh question with violence. History tells us that but our country just cannot seem to learn," he said.

The current military operation in Aceh were launched in May last year after GAM leaders persisted with their demands for independence despite the peace agreement signed in December 2002.

Former president Abdurrahman Wahid, who led the country from April 1999 to June 2001, tried to resolve the Aceh question once and for all through negotiation.

Early in 2000, Gus Dur promoted a humanitarian pause in an attempt to prevent more casualties. He also introduced special autonomy for Aceh, giving the provincial government greater power and a bigger share of revenue. Under the special autonomy scheme, a form of sharia has also been implemented in response to Acehnese demands.