Rebel activists remain cautious about returning to Aceh

I. Christianto, Contributor, Helsinki

In spite of the amnesty offered by the Indonesian government to all people linked to the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), many of them who are living in exile overseas have adopted a wait-and-see attitude, with no immediate plans to return home.

Munawar Liza Zainal or Warzain, the secretary-general of the Aceh Center in Pennsylvania, the United States, said he planned to first observe whether the peace deal was implemented properly before booking a ticket home.

"Actually, I can go to Aceh any time I want, and when I am needed there. But I will wait for the appropriate time to return to Aceh," he said after Monday's signing of the memorandum of understanding on the Aceh peace agreement.

The appropriate time for a homecoming would depend on the full withdrawal of troops that were recruited outside of Aceh, the transfer of power to the police to maintain law and order, the real political participation of the Acehnese and the absence of human rights violations, he added.

Warzain was involved in the Helsinki peace talks from the onset early this year. He was a member of the support group for the Aceh negotiating team, the duties of which included technical and information affairs.

"I can't specify a timeframe to determine an appropriate time, but I expect it will be soon," he said.

Another pro-GAM activist, Shadia Marhaban, who is a permanent resident of the U.S., said she would wait for the word from GAM as to whether she was needed in Aceh or overseas.

"I have learned there are still militiamen roaming around Aceh, and this is not right. This is what continues to cause me worry, even though the peace agreement has been signed. I am sure my family and relatives and the province of four million people are also worried about that," she said.

Shadia, the wife of American activist and freelance journalist William Nessen, has been living in the U.S. since 2003 and is active in the Aceh campaign across the country as well as other nations.

"I have been actively involved in the peace talks in Helsinki since the beginning, but as a civilian. This is to prove that GAM is involving civilians in the process," she said.

The issue of militia groups also worries Tgk. Yusuf. He said that GAM had evidence that militiamen acting under Indonesian Military (TNI) orders remained present in Aceh, even though the Indonesian government had always denied this.

In its press release dated Aug. 14, the day before the MOU's signing, GAM quoted a leaked TNI intelligence document as saying that there were nine militia organizations in Aceh with some 10,000 active members who vowed to kill GAM members after they were disarmed.

Nonetheless, Yusuf, plans to return to Banda Aceh, his hometown, by mid-September at the latest.

Meanwhile, adviser to GAM Damien Kingsbury said he would love to go to Aceh again once Indonesia allowed him back into the country.

"I was banned from entering Indonesia last December. Perhaps because I am too critical of the TNI," he said.

Kingsbury, the author of Power Politics and the Indonesian Military, is an Australian academic who is always among the Acehnese delegation in the Finnish capital.

Meanwhile, Bakhtiar Abdullah, GAM spokesman and negotiator in the peace talks, said he would not give up his Swedish citizenship just to return to Aceh after the deal was signed.

"From bullets, GAM is now dealing with ballet. The peace deal, however, hasn't made and won't make our organization over. And in my case, I won't give up my Swedish citizenship," he said, adding that he remained undecided as to when to visit Aceh.

Other GAM negotiators Malik Mahmud, Nur Djuli and Zaini Abdullah agreed with Abdullah.

Indonesian negotiator Sofyan Djalil, who is Minister of Information and Communications, said the peace agreement did not force those GAM supporters living overseas to return to Aceh.

"It's very understandable, if an Indonesian has abandoned his or her Indonesian citizenship and is enjoying the comforts of living abroad and holds the citizenship of a certain foreign country, he or she will think twice before regaining their Indonesian citizenship as Indonesia does not recognize dual citizenship." he said.

Responding to the issue of proxy militiamen, raised by GAM, former Aceh military commander Maj. Gen. Bambang Dharmono said TNI had never maintained militiamen, adding that such a worry was part of the process of trust building.