Truce preliminary condition for Aceh solution

Truce preliminary condition for Aceh solution

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

There seems no right policy for Aceh. Whatever policy is
pursued by the government seems to reach a dead end. The Acehnese
say this failure stems from the fact that policies are introduced
when violence is continuing unabated.

The Acehnese elite is apparently pessimistic about the overt
commitment from President Megawati Soekarnoputri to solving
Aceh's problems through dialogue rather than military operations.

Ulemas, the most influential group in the province, remain
skeptical about the government's current strategy, which has
caused deep confusion among the Acehnese people.

Imam Syuja, a respected ulema in the provincial capital of
Banda Aceh, said he was deeply concerned with the latest
developments in the province, which seemed to be making the
situation worse.

According to him, the nine-month implementation of
Presidential Instruction No. 4/2001, special autonomy and the
President's recent visit have brought no change to the lives of
Acehnese in the province.

Acehnese had suffered more during the past nine months since
the introduction of additional military forces in the province,
he said.

A series of bombings had taken place in several areas, many
innocent people, including formal and informal leaders, had been
killed, many others had been abducted, and thousands of houses
had been burned down, he said.

"The more soldiers come to Aceh, the more people will suffer.

"The deployment of more security personnel to the province has
raised fresh fears of new abductions and even killings among the
people.

"And most people have been reluctant to leave their houses and
to go about their daily activities because arrogant security
apparatus are found everywhere," he remarked.

Maimul Fidar, coordinator of the Coalition of Non-Governmental
Organizations for Human Rights in Aceh, said he did not object to
the ongoing military operation, but said it must be limited to
certain targets.

"The timeframe must be specified, say three months. Then the
police and the military must target only rebels, instead of
innocent people, in the operation," he said.

To him, it was ironic that the soldiers sent to Aceh did not
do their job in protecting local civilians. Instead, they killed
civilians and were reluctant to raid the bases of the separatist
Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in remote forest areas.

Tengku Ma'Amin, another Acehnese ulema in Simpang Mamplam
village, Aceh Besar, said that whatever the government did in
Aceh, it should be aimed at winning the hearts of Acehnese
people.

He said local people had no objections to the deployment of
more soldiers to the province but they should carry out their
tasks in accordance with the law and their behavior should not
cause hatred among the public.

"Both the central government and the local administration
should carry out their main task of serving the people and the
military should behave well and provide peace to the people," he
said.

If security forces continued to create terror and fear among
the Acehnese, many more people would join the separatist
movement.

"Many people join GAM after receiving inhumane and unfair
treatment from public servants, including the security
apparatus," he said.

He called on both GAM and government security forces to create
peace among the people, and then talk.

Sudja agreed and called on the military and GAM to lay down
their arms and sit down at the negotiating table with a third
party mediating to identify fundamental problems in the province
and seek a comprehensive solution.

"A truce is a must and a preliminary condition for peaceful
talks. The conflicting sides cannot go to the negotiating table
unless the violence ceases," he said.

He called on the central government to draw a lesson from the
Philippines' Moro issue in which Indonesia had played an
important role mediating between the Philippines government and
the Moro separatist movement.

Tengku Amri bin Abdul Wahab, field commander of GAM's military
wing, asserted that GAM was ready to agree to a cease-fire with
the military and to hold talks mediated by a third party.

"GAM is committed to making a bilateral agreement on a cease-
fire and ready to hold negotiations, regardless of their final
solution," he told The Jakarta Post in an interview by cellular
phone from his hiding place.