Rebel activists remain cautious about returning to Aceh

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.