The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
As the government continued to secure more support for its plan
to intensify military operations in Aceh, experts warned that an
increased military presence in Aceh would not solve problems but
would only create state-sanctioned violence against innocent
civilians there.
The latest endorsement of the government's harsh plan for Aceh
came from the People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais,
who conveyed his support during his meeting with President
Megawati Soekarnoputri on Thursday.
Amien said on Sunday that during his meeting with Megawati, he
asked her to utilize two other alternatives available, and then
resort to the military onslaught.
"In the meeting, I suggested three things, namely
negotiation with GAM needs to be continued, and the autonomy law
must be implemented fully," he said, adding that the security
forces needed to take stern actions against trouble makers, be
they thugs or GAM members.
"As for the military emergency, I think that's the last
option, because those three options needed to be implemented
first," he said.
Meanwhile, human rights activist Ori Rachman of the Commission
for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) warned on
Sunday that going back to another military operation could become
just another ploy to terrorize the Acehnese.
He also warned that the government's new labeling of the Free
Aceh Movement (GAM) as a "terrorist group" could
backfire.
"Many actions by military and police officers in Aceh
could very well be categorized as acts of terrorism because they
put the people (civilians) in misery," Ori said.
In another hint that the government wants to crush GAM more
than ever, Coordinating Minister for Political and Security
Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last Thursday labeled GAM as a
terrorist group.
The next day, a group of Acehnese legislators rejected the new
label, saying that GAM was just a group of Acehnese people who
campaign for independence.
They said such a label could lead to stigmatization, that could
be used as a justification for the military to launch another
military operation in Aceh.
Munir, one of the Kontras founders, also lamented the
government's moves to revive the military approach, saying that it
would only bring more casualties.
He emphasized that the leaders, both military and political,
had never learned the history of the cycle of conflict in Aceh.
Past rulers, from the Dutch colonial government to President
Sukarno and President Soeharto had all adopted iron-fisted
military approaches to deal with the desire for independence among
the Acehnese, but none have ever extinguished it.
The transitional government of B.J. Habibie lifted the military
operation imposed by his predecessor, Soeharto.
The ensuing administration of Abdurrahman Wahid pursued a
peaceful solution for Aceh by opening a dialog with GAM.
However, Abdurrahman later had to issue a presidential decree
that gave the military another free hand to operate in Aceh.
This decree was then extended by Megawati. The extended decree
expires this month.
Megawati is considering the adoption of a total military
approach to end the conflict once and for all.
Riefqi Muna of the Research Institute for Democracy and Peace (RIDeP)
was very disappointed by Megawati's fierce approach.
"This is a setback in the effort to create a peaceful
solution in Aceh," Riefqi told The Jakarta Post by
phone.
According to Riefqi, the situation had shown the public of the
government's inconsistency.
Citing last month's peace talks in Geneva, Riefqi said that the
government and GAM should have followed up on the peace dialog
rather than launching military operations.
During the peace talks, both Jakarta and GAM agreed to fully
execute Law No.18/2001 on Aceh's special autonomy as a starting
point for further negotiations to find a peaceful solution.
The autonomy law gives Aceh higher oil and gas revenues and the
opportunity to implement Sharia law.