Waiting for Susilo to keep his promises on Aceh

Waiting for Susilo to keep his promises on Aceh

Aguswandi, London

Aceh will be the best place to judge whether the new
government will be any different from previous regimes in
Indonesia. One of the biggest challenges for Bambang Susilo
Yudhoyono's government is to resolve the conflict in Aceh
peacefully. The way in which Susilo approaches the resolution of
the almost 30 years of conflict in Aceh will show whether he is
indeed different.

Not long after the election, Susilo met with an audience of
teachers. He promised he would work to settle the conflict by
peaceful means, saying "let us not just go ahead with the
military operation". However, he has shown considerable
ambiguity. He also stated that the country must remain united,
and that there could be no compromise on this.

However, Aceh is a place where actions are infinitely more
important than words. In the past, many Indonesian politicians
have made numerous promises about Aceh while rarely, if ever,
doing anything to deliver on them. In Megawati Soekarnoputri's
acceptance speech after her election to the presidency, the new
leader wept in public and promised that no blood would fall in
Aceh during her time in office. Contrary to these tears and
promises, the situation in Aceh was allowed to deteriorate afresh
until she declared martial law in May 2003.

As in most other places in Indonesia, Susilo won the second
round of the presidential election in Aceh. The Acehnese vote for
Susilo, however, was largely due to the population's desperation
on a number of fronts. The Megawati administration's "solution"
to the situation in Aceh not only led to bitter disappointment
and more failed promises but to the worsening of daily existence
on a scale not even seen under Soeharto. Under these
circumstances, it is unsurprising that voters opted for the only
change available and voted for Susilo.

Yet, Susilo was endorsed only reluctantly by the Acehnese. He
did not win in the first round of the presidential election. That
round saw the majority of votes go to Amien Rais, due in large
part to his well-known criticism of the Megawati government's
policy in the province. The vote for him was also stimulated by
his close association with Muhammadiyah, whose local and national
leaders have vigorously criticized military operations in Aceh.

The vote was an effort to send an indisputable message to
Jakarta, showing an unequivocal majority rejection of the
government's approach to Aceh. Once Amien was knocked out at the
national level, Aceh lost their only reasonably representative
candidate, and recognized that an overt rejection of Megawati was
the best remaining option.

Susilo should immediately work to improve the situation in
Aceh. His much touted legitimacy, as the country's first directly
elected president, provides him with a powerful platform from
which to pursue peace. Re-engaging in dialogue with GAM, and
giving the non-partisan population space at the negotiating
table, will always be hugely unpopular for nationalistic
Indonesia, but Susilo's unique position may mean he can take this
path to a peaceful solution.

Susilo needs to assess the current military approach
immediately. The new government should stop and evaluate the
administration of martial law from May 2003 to May 2004, as well
as monitoring and reviewing the events of the civil emergency
administration to date. It is imperative that an impartial
assessment be made as to how these military operations were
conducted. How many civilian have been killed? Susilo should also
immediately respond to rampant human rights violations in Aceh,
which were allegedly committed by government troops as reported
by Komnas HAM, Amnesty International and the Human Rights Watch.

The government should show its commitment to a new and
productive approach in Aceh by opening access to the province.
Independent rights groups that are currently not allowed into the
province can make clear and credible assessments of the human
rights situation in Aceh. Aceh should also be accessible to
national and international journalists.

The other critical way to move forward in Aceh requires the
new government to lay out their strategy for a viable, credible
peace process. Susilo has stated, on many occasions, that he
would like to see the situation in Aceh improve. What is not
clear yet is what actions he will be taking to bring about this
improvement.

On the contrary, he continues to cling to ambiguity and
abstract commitments. It is now imperative that Susilo shows the
Acehnese that he really does want to bring about peace and
positive changes in Aceh.

The writer is an Acehnese Human Rights Activist and Researcher
at TAPOL, The Indonesia Human Rights Campaign, based in London.