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.