James Balowski, Jakarta
At midnight on May 18, the Indonesian government declared an end to its two-year civil emergency in Indonesia's northern-most province of Aceh. But calls by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and human rights groups for the troops to be withdrawn have been ignored. Some reports even suggest that the government is planning to increase its troop numbers in Aceh.
Coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs Widodo AS said returning Aceh to a "normal status" was aimed at assisting reconstruction following last December's earthquake and tsunami. But he added that the security operations would continue.
Indonesia's parliament supports the continued presence of some 40,000 troops and paramilitary police in Aceh. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has stated that the huge troop numbers in Aceh must be retained, arguing that otherwise the Acehnese will not feel "secure" and the post-tsunami reconstruction wouldn't be implemented.
Yudhoyono also said his government would continue to talk with GAM, but that the proposed special autonomy status for Aceh and the constitution were non-negotiable. He said that a deadline would be placed on the negotiations.
Aceh was placed under martial law on May 19, 2003, after Jakarta sabotaged an earlier series of talks with GAM. This was reduced by the former president Megawati Sukarnoputri to a civil emergency on May 18, 2004, but more troops were sent there to launch a failed bid to persuade the Acehnese against seeking independence, and to try and destroy GAM.
Human rights organisations say that most of the 2300 or more people who have been killed, and the hundreds of others disappeared or imprisoned over this period, were civilians. Reports of torture, abductions and rape are widespread and the province is notorious for being the most corrupt in the country.
The organisations also say that the TNI's (armed forces) handling of relief operations — restricting the movement of foreign aid workers, hoarding and reselling humanitarian aid and harassing local groups — indicates it is hindering the humanitarian effort. The TNI claims GAM is attacking aid workers or stealing relief supplies, but almost every complaint reported by aid groups has been aimed at the TNI, not GAM.
NGOs attacked
Also of concern are moves by Jakarta to control which foreign aid groups can remain in Aceh. On April 27, for example, Tempo Interactive quoted the coordinating minister for people's welfare, Alwi Shihab, arguing for regulations on foreign NGOs to ensure they don't "interfere in Indonesia's domestic affairs". The regulation will also prohibit them from "working in the interests of separatists and particular ideologies".
Shihab said the NGOs must prove they are "really working for reconstruction and rehabilitation and must provide a signed commitment [to this effect]" before they can stay.
In May the head of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) said that some foreign aid groups are "harming the security situation". BIN chief Syamsir Siregar was quoted in the May 5 Jakarta Post accusing "one or two" of threatening Indonesia's unity and trying to do "other things aside from their humanitarian work" in Aceh.
Cautious response
Acehnese and human-rights organisations responded positively to the change in Aceh's status, saying it represents an opportunity to involve broader layers of society in the peace process.
Human Rights Working Group coordinator Rafendi Djamin said that the talks had to involve democratic organisations in Aceh and Indonesia. "Aceh's future cannot solely be appointed to GAM representatives", he told the May 17 Jakarta daily Kompas. "The process should also involve civil society. Listen to [Acehnese] society, women's groups, Islamic religious leaders and so forth." He urged the government to now restore full civil rights, saying, "People can no longer be detained in the name of emergency laws, even in the context of the military operation".
Rafendi also called for the troop numbers to be halved as a sign that the TNI supports the peace process. "Unfortunately, the TNI's commitment to be subordinate to the civilian government is still limited to statements by TNI chief General Endriartono Sutarto", he said, adding that officers in the field justify the TNI's presence because GAM's forces remain strong in the districts.
In fact, while Sutarto has toed the government line on Aceh's status, he has staunchly opposed ending military operations there. On May 12, he argued that the civil emergency should be extended, saying that GAM's forces have grown post-tsunami and that many GAM prisoners had escaped from tsunami damaged jails and had taken weapons from police barracks.
Rafendi also criticised the "reconstruction" plan outlined by Aceh military commander Major-General Supiadin AS to build TNI-controlled Vietnam-style "strategic hamlets" in Aceh.
The Aceh Working Group (AWG) also welcomed the government's decision, saying that the emergency had limited democratic space and the movement of humanitarian aid. AWG also called for a reduction in the numbers of troops in Aceh, and criticised the deployment of 900 more troops from the East Java 512 Malang Battalion.
Acehnese groups in Jakarta also welcomed the move, but warned that little would change for the Acehnese unless the TNI was withdrawn. The Solidarity Movement with the People of Aceh (SEGERA) and the Acehnese Popular Democratic Resistance Front (FPDRA) described the decision as "positive", claiming that it would assist reconstruction. They warned, however, that like the period of civil emergency, unless troops are withdrawn human rights abuses would continue and reconstruction efforts would be disrupted.
FPDRA chairperson Thamrin Ananda told Green Left Weekly that he is not too optimistic because while the government is discussing peace with GAM, it is encouraging the TNI to continue its war in Aceh. "This is just another example of the government's dualistic policy. If it is not followed by the withdrawal of troops it will just be another of the government's lip-service policies."
According to a May 18 Jakarta Post report, a meeting between a group of Acehnese civilians and GAM had been arranged by the Sweden-based Olof Palme International Center in Stockholm. Damien Kingsbury, a political advisor to GAM and lecturer at Deakin University in Victoria, told the Jakarta Post he was hopeful that such talks were important to concluding any peace agreement. "The views of Aceh civil society should be included in any possible peace agreement. Their voice is very important", Kingsbury said.
GAM's response to the government's lifting of the emergency was to describe it as a "cruel joke". The next round of talks between GAM and the Indonesian government are scheduled to begin on May 26.
From Green Left Weekly, May 25, 2005.
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