The Acehnese people deserve much better conditions

Before his return to Bangkok on Wednesday, Thai Maj. Gen. Tanongsuk Tuvinum talked to The Jakarta Post's Kornelius Purba about his five-month experience in Aceh as the head of the Joint Security Committee (JSC), and his view about the future of peace in the troubled province.

Question : You had to leave Aceh while your team was trying to create peace in the province. How do you feel about the territory?

Answer: To me, we have done quite a lot in the last five months. We have accomplished a lot of things, we have saved a lot of lives and I believe that a lot of Acehnese people had a chance to see real peace, for there was a period we minimized the conflict, and also minimized the loss of lives and casualties.

So I believe JSC itself has accomplished a lot of things. So we don't go empty handed. But of course it is normal for any peace process that it may have some ups, it may have some downs, some difficulties. So I believe it is very natural for the peace process to run into difficulties. We cannot achieve peace within a period of weeks or months because the conflict or differences have been going on for over 26 years. So it takes time, but hopefully it will not be too long. But five months to me, is very short. We still have hope. Personally, I am still optimistic that the peace process can continue in the near future, because both parties are still searching for peace.

Just now you told me that you could return again to Aceh. What do you mean?

What I mean is that peace process will continue, and hopefully it will continue soon. We are still hoping and continue to hope that both parties can face one another, sit down together and discuss differences. So even though there are some reports that there will be an offensive military operation, hopefully this will just be a short period, and may be just ... I hope it is just a threat.

I hope it will not be a real military operation. Of course we know that the government of Indonesia will conduct three or four military operations. We are hoping that it will be peaceful operation, not a military offensive operation that can make the situation worse. Hopefully it will be some sort of humanitarian operation rather than anything else.

You are very popular in Aceh, because people see your presence as a symbol of hope and peace for them. What is your biggest achievement there?

I don't think it is my own, but my team's achievement, the achievement of JSC because after the peace agreement, we minimized the number of incidents and of course we minimized the number of losses, the number of casualties, and number of loss of lives, both from the Indonesian Military, the GAM (Free Aceh Movement) members and especially the innocent civilians of Aceh.

Before the signing, according to statistics there were 87 people killed each month and 90 percent of them were civilians. And after the signing we brought the figure down to 11 security- related casualties. So that there was a 90 percent drop in number of fatalities.

Some of those achievements were because both parties refrained from committing violence and hostilities. It is very clear for Acehnese people that if there is peace again, they can run their normal life and the business runs, the people can go out on the streets at night, shops will open again. And this is good for the people.

What is the saddest thing for your?

Well, the military operation plan, because I would like to see the peace process going forward. Sometimes we can go fast, sometimes we can go slow, but looking at the process altogether, to me it seems to be running in idle, and we were wasting our energy without going anywhere. That makes it very sad for the peacekeepers.

I don't think that anybody would like to stop the peace process. Somebody has been working for peace, and if the peace process stops you feel like we have unfinished business, an unfinished job. And inside you feel that you have not really accomplished what you have set out to do, what you anticipated should have be done. I feel disappointed.

It is not really sadness but disappointment. But what I feel sad for, is the people. People are now faced with the resumption of fighting, conflicts continue, incidents happen, there is a military operation. A lot of people will suffer. So if you ask me about sadness, I think I am very sad for the people. For myself, I am a little bit disappointed and I would like to see the peace process continue, even if it only slows down. But stopping entirely or slipping backward would be a major disappointment for me.

As the friends of both sides, the GAM and the Indonesian government, what is your advice to GAM now to restore peace?

I believe that both parties have to stick to their commitments they made in the agreements. That is the only bible. That is the only commitment that we have, that is the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA). So what both parties need to do is only to follow the agreement. If you follow the agreement and comply with the agreement, I think it is quite enough because the agreement is written very clearly and very well written.

What is your advice to the government and to the Indonesian Military?

I am not in the position to advise the government of Indonesia. But since we have been working for the agreement for five months, we may see some necessary improvements that could be made in order to make the peace process better. But probably it is not proper for me to talk about it.

As an Army general how do you perceive the Indonesian military's operation plan?

Of course the government of Indonesia has the sovereignty over the land. They have their own right, they have a job to do. I believe every country would do the same and, of course, they cannot be separated from the basic principle that each country will have to comply with.

Therefore the job of a military is to secure the land, that is their job. But the military is a part of the government, so if the government is committed to something, the military also has to obey and follow the policy laid down by the government. So if the government signs the agreement, of course the military has to follow, that is the duty of the military. Therefore, everyone has the job to carry it out.

After living for 5 months in Aceh, what is your opinion of the Acehnese, are they independence-minded people?

I feel they want to live a normal life. And, of course, I feel they would like to be involved in a lot of the process. They are very knowledgeable on a lot of things that a lot of people would know who are the important people and what project is going on. They will be aware what is going on. So they are interested in the news. I think they deserve much better conditions because they have been suffering for too long and too much.