Peace reigns in Dutch cemetery amid Aceh's strife

Nani Farida, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

Gen. J.H.R. Kohler, who led the stepped up Dutch advance to take Aceh in the late 19th century, probably never imagined that one day he would finally -- posthumously -- find his own peaceful corner in the troublesome area.

He lost his life at the hands of incensed Acehnese in 1873 after setting ablaze the Grand Mosque of Baiturrahman in Banda Aceh, and his body was buried in Batavia, present-day Jakarta.

A century later, his remains were exhumed and moved to Aceh to be reburied on the piece of land now known as Peucut Kerkhof (graveyard in Dutch) -- his final resting place in the land where he was slain.

A monument to Kohler stands in the cemetery, with the symbol of a snake biting its own tail engraved under his name. It is a constant reminder of Kohler's fatefully misguided strategy of burning the mosque -- almost ensuring his death among the proudly Muslim Acehnese.

Measuring about four hectares, Peucut Kerkhof is located in the center of Banda Aceh on part of the former grounds of the palace of the Sultanate of Iskandar Muda.

Officially made a Dutch cemetery in 1893, Peucut Kerkhof (it's often mispelled "Kerkhoff" by locals) has a grand entrance gate with a marble wall inscribed with the names and places of death of the Dutch soldiers killed in the long, bloody campaign to overcome the Acehnese. Against fierce resistance, the Dutch only gained flimsy control of the northernmost tip of Sumatra in 1903.

Today, the cemetery is home to about 2,200 graves of Dutch colonial soldiers and marsose, the Ambonese, Manadonese and Batak Indonesians hired as soldiers by the Dutch colonial administration. Besides Kohler, Peucut Kerkhof is also home to the graves of three other Dutch generals, including Gen. Peer and Gen. Weijerman.

In the past, locals were opposed to the presence of Peucut Kerkhof. Besides their bitterness toward the former colonial administrator, they also felt that the land's strategic location would better serve as a business area.

Some continue to hold the sentiment.

"How can a cemetery be located in the center of a town? Besides, this cemetery is intended for colonial soldiers. It would be better turned into a shopping center," said Muslim, a resident who lives near the cemetery.

Others have come to accept its presence, and consider it a sign of Acehnese bravery in standing up to the Dutch.

For many years after the country's independence in 1945, the cemetery was neglected and used as a dump. Old gravestones were vandalized and their tiles stolen.

In 1975, a Dutch foundation called Sixteen Pocut Fund began to finance the maintenance of this cemetery. The foundation's members are the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the Dutch soldiers buried in Peucut Kerkhof.

Since then, the cemetery has been well maintained, with a fence surrounding it for protection against vandals.

Rusli, 50, one of the graveyard keepers, said he recounted seeing many Dutch people visiting the site during his 10 years of employment.

"Members of the executive board of this foundation also come here every year," the father of two told The Jakarta Post.

He said the Dutch foundation teamed up with the Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam administration for its maintenance.

"Every quarter they send Rp 15 million for the maintenance cost," said Rusli.

Each month, Rusli said he received Rp 3 million for the cemetery maintenance and his salary.

"It is the Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam administration that manages the financial matters of the foundation," he said tersely when asked about how the remaining money was used.

He complained that the money was far from enough to ensure good maintenance.

A Dutch citizen who recently came to see the grave of his grandfather exploded in anger when he could not find it. Many of the inscriptions on the gravestones have been defaced.

"This man was disappointed because he said he paid a contribution fee every month," Rusli said.

While most consider the cemetery evidence of the Dutch colonial administration reaching even to resistant Aceh, it is also testament to the long history of sharia in the area. In a corner of the cemetery is the grave of Pocut Meurah Pupok, the crown prince of the great leader Sultan Iskandar Muda, who met a gristly fate after committing adultery.

He was beheaded by his own father; proof of the sultan's anger is that he ordered the body to be buried outside the royal burial grounds, hence the name "Peucot", a corruption of Meurah Pupok's name.

Today, the prince, along with the assembly of Dutch and other soldiers, have found peace in Aceh. It's unfortunate that the same peace has yet to come to the area more than 100 years after the terrible Aceh wars that took their lives.