Sociologist warns of dirty war in Aceh

Sociologist warns of dirty war in Aceh

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Strict restrictions against the presence of the media and foreign
individuals and institutions in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam has
raised speculation that the Indonesian Military (TNI) will employ
"a dirty war" in crushing the separatist Free Aceh Movement
(GAM), a sociologist said on Friday.

Otto Syamsuddin Ishak said that more than a month after
imposing martial law in the war-torn province, the military had
failed to predict the strength of GAM rebels, forcing the TNI to
apply a new war strategy which may repeat the brutality of the
10-year military operation in Aceh from 1989 to 1999.

"The presence of the media and activists in Aceh promotes
transparency over the ongoing (military and humanitarian)
operation there.

"And a series of abuses conducted by government troops has
also been exposed to the public and indeed it has not been
beneficial for the TNI," Otto told The Jakarta Post.

He was referring to a series of violent incidents against
civilians that were exposed by the press, including the incident
in Lawang village in Bireun, North Aceh, which had forced the
military to prosecute seven soldiers of the Lampung-based 144th
Infantry Battalion accused of assaulting civilians there.

To support the new strategy, the Ministry of Justice and Human
Rights is drafting tough regulations to limit the presence of
non-governmental organizations (NGO) in Aceh, further closing the
province to independent scrutiny.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri earlier issued a decree
restricting foreigners from traveling to Aceh for the duration of
martial law, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also issued
a regulation restricting foreign journalists and local
correspondents of foreign media to a maximum stay of one month.

Otto further criticized Jakarta's decision to screen civil
servants in Aceh so as to strengthen the local administration,
saying that "it is no different to the screening that the New
Order regime exercised over those allegedly involved in the
abortive coup blamed on the now defunct Indonesian Communist
Party (PKI) on Sept. 30, 1965.

"With regards the humanitarian assistance, I don't think that
the government is capable of handling that as many refugees are
already suffering from life-threatening illnesses, including
diarrhea and respiratory ailments," Otto said.

Echoing Otto was rights activist Johnson Pandjaitan of the
Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI), who
said that the latest policies had been motivated by prejudice
that both the press and activists had contributed to the
country's disintegration.

According to Johnson, such policies neglected the real role of
the media and activists in controlling the ongoing military
offensive in Aceh because "all military critics will be branded
as supporting the separatist group."

Johnson said the military had likely learned from the East
Timor experience where it was considered unable to restrict the
presence of the press and foreign activists before the August
1999 ballot, which resulted in the East Timorese opting for
independence.

"The secessionist movement is not the only problem in Aceh.
There are also issues of rights abuses, weapons and drug
trafficking. The military is believed to have contributed to
these problems and do you think they can handle the situation
while the press and the activists are around?," Johnson said.