Shooting Aceh's messenger, killing peace hopes

Shooting Aceh's messenger, killing peace hopes

Lesley McCulloch, School of Asian Studies, University of Tasmania,
Australia

The pursuit of a negotiated settlement to the conflict in Aceh
has been viewed with skepticism by many for some time. But now
confirmation of the Indonesian government's lack of commitment to
the peace process seems imminent. Coordinating Minister for
Political and Security Affairs, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, is
visiting Aceh to discuss with local military and political
leaders the prospects for imposing a state of emergency in the
violence-racked province.

Such a step would be a definitive rejection of the possibility
for a negotiated settlement to the conflict any time in the near
future.

And indeed, five negotiators who represented the pro-
independence Aceh Sumatra National Liberation Front (ASNLF,
commonly known as GAM) at peace talks in Geneva in May have
already been threatened with arrest. They are Sofyan Ibrahim
Tiba, Tgk. Muhammad Usman, T. Kamaruzzaman, Amni bin Marzuki, and
Amdi bin Hamdani.

They have been ordered to leave the Kuala Tripa Hotel in the
provincial capital of Banda Aceh, in which they have been living
since June 2000, or be taken into custody.

The negotiators initially took up residence in the hotel to
facilitate regular contact with the office of the Geneva-based
Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HDC), facilitators of the
fruitless peace talks. But after the killing by the military of a
sixth member of the delegation, Zulfani bin Abdul Rani in October
2001, residence in the hotel turned from a choice into a
necessity.

The government has not been willing to attack the remaining
five negotiators under the eyes of the hotel's international
guests and HDC staff. But the group now fear, not unreasonably,
that if they comply with the order to return to their villages,
they too will eventually be killed. As Amni bin Marzuki said in
an interview on Thursday, "We are on stand-by here for anything
to happen. But we are refusing to move."

The fate of these men is of particular interest and import,
since it serves as a litmus test of the Indonesian government's
commitment -- or lack thereof -- to a negotiated settlement of
the crisis in Aceh. Negotiators are embodiments of a process of
peaceful dialog. Without negotiators, how can dialog continue?

Diplomatic immunity is one of the most ancient principles of
what we now codify as international law. Successful negotiations
depend on the safety of the negotiators involved, not just during
meetings but for as long as they are within the reach of their
partners in dialog.

Were Aceh recognized under international law as a state --
even one at war with Indonesia -- the negotiators' immunity as
diplomats would be guaranteed. As it is, their safety is no more
assured than that of any of the 600 Acehnese who have died at the
hands of government troops in the last six months alone.

ASNLF Central Bureau for Information spokesperson Teungku
Isnander argues that the Indonesian government should behave
according to internationally agreed best practice, that is, the
pursuit of peaceful solution to a conflict. This includes giving
a degree of protection to those involved in brokering peace.

An important model for such protection can be found in the
Philippines. There, the government took the signal step in
February 1995 of signing with the opposition National Democratic
Front a joint agreement on safety and immunity guarantees.

The agreement extends protection to negotiators, consultants,
staffers, and other personnel participating in peace
negotiations. Under the Joint Agreement, all duly accredited
persons are guaranteed free and unhindered passage in all areas
of the country.

They further are guaranteed immunity from surveillance,
harassment, search, arrest, detention, prosecution and
interrogation, or any other similar punitive actions due to
involvement in the peace negotiations.

The agreement has been a cornerstone of the Philippine peace
process. It serves as an example that all governments that are
genuinely committed to negotiated peace processes should follow.
The Indonesian government should sign a similar agreement with
the ASNLF, as well as with the independence movement in West
Papua, as soon as possible.

Indeed, the achievement of such an agreement should be a major
objective of all of Indonesia's governmental and non-governmental
partners in the international community.

Further peace talks between the ASNLF and the government were
originally scheduled for later this month. They have now been
postponed. In the light of recent events, one has to wonder if
further talk will in fact be possible. Certainly the majority of
Acehnese are battle-weary and want the violence to end.

But if the Indonesian government is willing to shoot the
messengers, what hope can there be for a negotiated peace in
Aceh?

The writer is conducting research on the conflict in Aceh.