Self-interests deprive Aceh people of peace

Endy M. Bayuni, Deputy Chief Editor, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

For people who have almost always lived in a state of war over the last hundred years, living in peace is a luxury, perhaps even an aberration. The people of Aceh obviously enjoyed the "abnormality" they experienced, albeit briefly, early this year when government troops and separatist rebels decided to cease their fire.

Traditional markets were bustling with shoppers and traders going about their businesses, children were going to school without hearing a single gunshot, and the road between Medan and Banda Aceh in North Sumatra Aceh could be traveled in six or seven hours instead of taking an entire day -- as was the case when multiple check points and roadblocks stood, erected by both the military and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

But the indicator that best reflected the Acehnese's confidence was the fact that small coffee stalls on the sidewalks of Banda Aceh stayed open until late in the night or until the wee hours, with men talking about peace, the last war, last night's European soccer matches, domestic problems and how hard it was to find work.

This "abnormality" continued from early December until the second half of February, or in other words, for as long as the Indonesian government and GAM allowed the peace to prevail.

Now, the people of Aceh are being forced to revert to a situation with which they are very familiar -- to a life haunted by multiple fears: Fear for their own lives, for their loved ones, for their livelihood, for their property and for their uncertain future.

The markets are not as crowded as they were only a few months ago -- the happy faces of shoppers and traders have been replaced with looks of anxiety and suspicion, fear and terror have replaced the smiles of children going to school, and checkpoints along major roads have been reerected.

The roadside coffee stalls stand empty and close early.

Conditions are bound to get worse. With Jakarta about to declare war on GAM, Aceh will again be plunged into another war, with all the ugly consequences.

There is no doubt that the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, popularly referred to by its acronym COHA, was the best thing that had ever happened to the people of Aceh for a long time.

Signed on Dec. 9 in Geneva, it required both the government troops and GAM rebels to immediately desist from engaging in further hostilities. The agreement created peace in Aceh, if only for a little over two months, even if it was only a shaky peace.

Still, it gave Acehnese a sneak preview of what life could be without a military conflict, of what a normal life could be. It is a cruel act on the part of both Jakarta and GAM to take that peace away from them now, after having raised their hopes and expectations.

The brief lull showed that GAM and the government could stop the fighting given the political will. So therein, probably, lies the real problem: The lack of political will on either side.

Rather than considering the interests of the people of Aceh, who are clearly yearning for peace, both the government and GAM have been indulging in their own self-interests. They used the COHA only so far as it benefited themselves, and are now abandoning the agreement when it no longer suits their interests.

The well-being of the Acehnese people has never been their prime motive for engaging in this peace process. In fact, they were never sincere in their commitment to peace in the first place.

GAM continues to campaign for independence; Jakarta is more concerned about territorial integrity and the future of the unitary state of the republic. Both sides have treated the COHA as a means to promote their respective political objectives.

Each has its own interpretation of the condition, "acceptance of the Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Law as a starting point", that forms the basis of the peace agreement.

For Jakarta, "starting point" means GAM's acceptance of Aceh's special autonomy under the sovereignty of the republic. For GAM, "starting point" does not negate its final goal of independence.

This contentious point would have, sooner or later, come to the fore as they tried to implement the terms of the agreement.

This is exactly what is happening now.

But rather than sit down and work out their differences, the two camps have decided on the easiest way out: Abandon the agreement and go back to their old, uncivilized ways and fight.

As in any war, the first casualties will be the unarmed civilians.

COHA, which was brokered by the Geneva-based Henry Dunant Centre, was never intended to be a peace agreement or a panacea for the Aceh problem. It was just an agreement for a ceasefire -- but it was an important agreement. Combined with the pledge by foreign governments to assist in the reconstruction of Aceh, made during their meeting in Tokyo in December, the COHA is the road map to peace in Aceh.

With the ceasefire -- with all armed organizations supposedly neutralized -- civil society groups were to get together under an "all-inclusive Aceh dialog" to talk about Aceh's future. Whether to seek independence or to remain under the republic, this decision is theirs, and theirs alone, to decide, not GAM's and not the Jakarta government's.

It is clear that neither GAM nor the government are willing to take the risk and let the Acehnese people determine their own fate, for fear that the decision might not compliment their own political goals.

The government and GAM may be at war, but they have conspired to deprive the people of Aceh their right to a chance for real peace, and a chance to decide their own future.

If the government and GAM had been genuinely sincere in their desire for peace, they would have continued dialog, no matter how long it took. They would not have abandoned it after only five months.

The government of Indonesia momentarily stood on high moral ground when it ceded to one GAM demand after another regarding the date and venue for dialog. It lost that position of advantage the moment it started to violate the COHA agreement itself, deploying its troops to Aceh and now, declaring war on GAM.

At any rate, both sides are guilty of squandering a rare opportunity to forge peace once and for all. They are also guilty for the deaths and destruction that will now ensue with the return of armed conflicts to Aceh.