Transitional government, dialog suggested for Aceh
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A transitional government and a return to dialog focusing on the real interests of the Acehnese instead of that of the warring parties, would serve Acehnese much better than extending martial law, observers here said.
Rizal Sukma from the Centre of Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said Thursday that the government should prepare a transitional, civilian-based government that would be fully in charge of handling issues important to people in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, especially rehabilitation, reconstruction, justice and amnesty.
Rizal said the transitional government could adopt the model of the United Nation's transitional administration in East Timor (UNTAET). Its task would include ensuring the Acehnese get to exercise their political rights in the 2004 general elections in democratic circumstances, within 18 months, Rizal added.
"The government should appoint an independent person -- who is not an Acehnese nor a bureaucrat -- to be in charge of the transitional government. But I'm not talking about foreign intervention because the political context in Aceh (relating to the above task, for instance) should not involve foreign parties," Rizal said after a discussion on the government's decision to extend martial law in Aceh.
Meanwhile sociologist Otto Syamsuddin Ishak from the Aceh- based Syah Kuala University said that both the government and separatist groups in Aceh must start a dialog on the province's reconstruction to solve the main problems in the province. Such a dialog should sideline the interests of the warring parties, including their respective, ever conflicting stance on sovereignty.
"The series of dialogs in the past have been fruitless because both the Indonesian government and separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) continue talking about their own interests and each point of the peace agreement was merely stipulated on how they could control each other," Otto said referring to the collapsed Dec. 9 agreement signed in Geneva by the government and GAM, mediated by the Henry Dunant Center.
"Now, I'm proposing Jakarta and GAM promote a dialog that only focuses on reconstruction and rehabilitation in Aceh because the continuing war has only sacrificed civilians there. It's (the dialog) not about who will win or lose the war," Otto said.
President Megawati Soekarnoputri decided Thursday to extend military rule in Aceh for another six months, despite criticism from experts and rights bodies, who said the decision would only worsen rampant rights violations.
No less than 1,000 GAM rebels have been killed since martial law was launched on May 19. Security authority in Aceh is already proceeding legal measures against 1,800 rebels, but none have legal representation. The military has also announced the death of 67 military and police personnel during the same period.
The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) said that at least 319 Acehnese civilians had also died and 117 injured.