The Acehnese people deserve much better conditions

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.