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Paper no. 1236
28. 01. 2005
INDONESIA: ACEH’S FUTURE – Right time to find a non-military solution
by C. S. Kuppuswamy
The Aceh province of Indonesia situated on the northern part of Sumatra island was closest to the epicenter of the earthquake and the tsunami which struck a few countries of the Indian ocean region on 26 December 2004. According to Indonesia’s Health Ministry’s figures of 23 January 2005, 173,981 people died on Sumatra island in this disaster of which most of the deaths occurred in the province of Aceh. The last time a major disaster that occurred in Sumatra was in 1883 when a volcano erupted off Sumatra killing about 40,000 people.
The Past
The Province of Aceh, rich in natural resources (oil and Gas) and with a population of around 5 million is located on the northern part of Sumatra. Since Aceh was a sultanate and not under Dutch colonial rule, the Acehnese claim that it should not have been included in the Republic of Indonesia in 1949. During the Suharto era, as a result of the unequal distribution of revenue drawn from the exploitation of the natural resources of this province, the Free Aceh Movement known as Gerakan Aceh Meredeka (GAM) came into being in 1976. The Indonesian government has suppressed this movement for long with a heavy hand through its military and with the help of its Anti Subversion Law of 1963. In recent years the government had agreed for negotiations and to hold peace talks which have often failed on some pretext or other. More than 10,000 indigenous men and women have been killed and a number of schools and hospitals demolished in the military operations over these years against this freedom movement.
The Source: The Economist
Economic jealousy is helping to keep alive the insurgency in this province as wealth produced is among the highest while the income and consumption per person is perhaps among the lowest in the national rankings. Though the insurgents may be fighting for an independent Islamic state, economic inequality and regional autonomy seem to be the major issues for the struggle.
Aceh and East Timor have perhaps been the provinces where the human rights abuses by the military have been the worst as observed by the human rights monitoring organizations during the three decade regime of Suharto.
The nationalist movement gained strength after the down fall of Suharto. The military’s apology for the human rights abuses and their pledge to reduce the combat troops in the province emboldened the movement to a certain extent. A more free press also helped the cause of the rebels.
Negotiations were held between GAM and the Government in June 2000. A ceasefire between the rebels and the government (military) came into effect in December 2002 with the help of the Geneva based Henry Dunant Centre but again the talks failed. Aceh was brought under martial law on 19 May 2003 and a major military offensive was launched using the air force and the Navy. In May 2004 the martial law was revoked and the province was brought under a state of emergency for six months which was further extended on 19 November 2004 for another six months.
Within a few days of the devastation of this province by the tsunami on 26 December 2004, Vice President Jusuf Kalla annulled the state of emergency.
The Present.
For the purpose of this paper the present starts on 26 December 2004, when the earthquake followed by the tsunami struck Indonesia along with a few other countries of this region. In Indonesia, the province of Aceh in general and the port towns of Banda Aceh and Meulaboh in particular were the worst affected. At least 166,000 people in the province died and around 600,000 were rendered homeless as a result of the earthquake and the tsunami.
The Source: The Economist
Aid started pouring in from many nations and international organizations. As per a news report “The United Nations has at least 30 major international organizations, nine agencies, hundreds of volunteers and military personnel from several countries under its coordination in handling aid, distribution and the provision of facilities including clean water, education and health for survivors. The US has deployed 12 helicopters in this province, while Singapore and Malaysia are sending one each, while France is planning to send five”.
The Indonesian government was rather slow to react because of the magnitude of the disaster. However it soon set up a disaster mitigation force under Alwi Shihab, who is the Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare and the progress is being personally supervised by Vice President Jusuf Kalla. Many NGOs and social organizations joined the effort.
Of the Indonesian Muslim organizations the first to reach the province was Muhammadiyah (Newsweek-10 January 2005). With the limited resources available it organized the school teachers and administrators to sweep the streets for corpses and set up soup kitchens and prepare camps for refugees.
The first Islamic political group to reach the province to aid the victims was The Prosperous Justice Party or PKS. They provided bags of rice branded with PKS insignia, tents and medicine regularly through a specially chartered plane and by vehicles from the city of Medan. More than 1500 party volunteers were on the job.
The more radical Indonesian Mujahideen Council and the extremist group Islamic Defenders Front had also moved in to help the victims with food and clothing besides offering “spiritual guidance and strength” to the survivors (BBC News-17 January 2005).
A religious and political colour is attributed to the aid offered by these moderate as well as radical and extremist Islamic groups to the victims in this province as Aceh has higher percentage of Muslims than other parts of Indonesia. Besides the Muslims in Aceh are more conservative and some elements of the Sharia law are in vogue in this province.
The presence of more than 2000 foreign nationals including foreign military personnel involved in delivering aid has also irked the Indonesian government, the military and the nationalist groups. The apprehension that the foreign nationals may in fact be helping the rebels has been expressed in many ways. Some nationalist groups went to the extent of suggesting that Indonesia should have followed India’s example of refusing external aid for this disaster. There have been reports of some restrictions imposed on the aid workers and access being denied to the foreign aid workers outside Banda Aceh and Meulaboh on the pretext that their safety in the interior areas is in danger because of the rebels. Though no firm dates have been stipulated the foreign agencies and especially the military personnel may be ordered to leave before the end of March 2005.
The rebels of GAM in Aceh and their leaders in exile, on their part, declared a unilateral ceasefire shortly after the earthquake and the tsunami. They had said the truce was required to allow effective humanitarian relief operation in the province. The rebels have also been continuously reaffirming their commitment to the unilateral ceasefire and criticizing the government for its lack of response and on imposing restrictions on aid agencies citing the dangers because of the rebels in the area.
The Future
The future is not bleak but not bright either.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhyono announced on 18 January 2005 that a special coordinating body is being set up to oversee and supervise the rebuilding of Aceh. He said that this team “will be given the ultimate authority and responsibility for implementing the government’s reconstruction blueprint for Aceh and Nias Island”. He preferred the majority of the members of this Special Authority Board to be Acehnese and the members must understand the culture, traditions and particular needs of the Acehnese. He also clarified that the board would not undermine the special autonomy (in Aceh) and instead strengthen the province’s special status.
There were some reports to indicate that the Indonesian government had agreed to resume talks with the rebels and that the talks are to be held in Finland by the end of January 2005. The talks were to be mediated by the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI) headed by Ex-President Martti Ahtisaari However the government has denied resumption of talks with the rebels at this juncture and that the dates and other details for the talks in Finland are yet to be finalized.
The stumbling block may again be the military which is averse to talks with GAM as it would provide a certain amount of legitimacy to this outfit and the efforts taken till date to crush the rebels will go waste. It is also but natural to assume that GAM must have also lost an appreciable number of cadres in this disaster which is to the advantage of the military and the government.
The annulment of the state of emergency in the province of Aceh by Vice President Jusuf Kalla immediately after the tsunami has raised many questions than easing the situation. The annulment is considered controversial as the House of Representatives was not consulted before the announcement. If the annulment is implemented in its letter and spirit, the combat troops had to be reduced and withdrawn and further action by the military against the rebels have to be approved by the local authorities or the centre.
On 26 January 2005, exactly one month after the tsunami, schools in Banda Aceh including the traditional madrassas reopened though with a much depleted strength and in most cases under tented accommodation. With the efforts to reestablish the routine and reestablish their lives, the city is limping back to normalcy.
Bruno Dercon, an urban and regional planner has in an article after the tragedy has said “Post-diasaster Aceh needs a social-economic strategic plan addressing township building, entrepreneurship recovery and at the same time it requires free and reliable movement throughout the entire province with other regions”. However the resumption of the civil war will stall the progress in rebuilding this province.
UN estimated up to five years of work in Aceh that includes four months of providing emergency response, the rehabilitation of road, telephone lines and schools and to help Acehnese recuperate from the trauma as well as with the reconstruction of Aceh. However it is debatable whether UN agencies will be able to carry on with the task without any restrictions from the Indonesian government. On the contrary if the effort is matched with the plans of the Government to rebuild this province it brings hopes for a better future for the Acehnese.
Conclusion
Unlike the Muslim rebels of the Philippines or Thailand where they are a minority, the Muslim rebels of Aceh are fighting with the government in Indonesia which is the world’s most populous Muslim nation. Hence the struggle is for more political and economic reasons than religious.
There are varying reports on the strength of GAM rebels ranging from 2000 to 5000. However the Indonesian military has not been able to liquidate them despite their claims to “wipe them out” during the last offensive in May 2003. The reasons are that it is not a conventional land warfare but counter insurgency operations and because the rebels have the sympathy of the locals.
In this civil war the worst affected have been the civilians who had to suffer the wrath of the rebels as well as that of the military and more than 10,000 people have lost their lives besides the number of schools, hospitals and other institutions demolished in this long drawn civil war from 1976. Now the earthquake and the tsunami have further debilitated the province. As most commentators have remarked it is the opportune moment for the Indonesian government to seize this opportunity for finding a non-military solution to this long standing problem.
The peace talks have failed over the years and the GAM is insisting on the demand for independence. While giving out the reasons for this stalemate, Sidney Jones in a report to the USINDO forum said “The Indonesian government said they would never allow the GAM to be a local political party. To require GAM to join an existing party does not make sense. And the provincial government is so corrupt that autonomy under its rule is understandably repugnant to the local people. Therefore, many see independence as the only alternative".
Indonesia can never agree for secession of this province and it is incorrect to compare Aceh with East Timor which was annexed by Indonesia while Aceh was part of this nation from independence. Hence the GAM cannot keep insisting on independence but have to come to the negotiating table with the commitment to remain part of Indonesia, while the Indonesian government may have to strengthen the various aspects of the provincial rule to make it a genuine autonomy. For this both sides have to give in to arrive at a mutually acceptable solution to get over the impasse and usher in peace which has been eluding this state for long.
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