CHALLENGES 2005-2006: Possible Pitfalls in Aceh

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Fabio Scarpello

JAKARTA, Dec 23 2005 (IPS) - There is a shared optimism in Aceh, where both the Indonesian government and the former rebels have stuck to the peace agreement signed in Helsinki on Aug. 15. But analysts warn of a few potential pitfalls on the path towards a lasting peace.

There is a shared optimism in Aceh, where both the Indonesian government and the former rebels have stuck to the peace agreement signed in Helsinki on Aug. 15. But analysts warn of a few potential pitfalls on the path towards a lasting peace.

In the hot Acehnese afternoon of Wednesday Dec 21, leaders of the Free Aceh Movement (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka – GAM) stood in a field near provincial capital Banda Aceh next to their former enemies, the generals of the Indonesian Army, while international peace observers destroyed the last six rifles handed in by the ex- rebels.

These arms brought the total collected and destroyed to 840 – just what the rebels had committed to surrender when they signed the peace deal.

The Indonesian Military (Tentara Nasional Indonesia – TNI) has also stuck to its part of the agreement, which implied withdrawing 24,000 troops from the province. Most have already left and the remaining few hundred will go by the end of the year. According to the Helsinki agreement, only 14,700 soldiers and 9,100 police, all locally-recruited, are to stay in Aceh.

Prior to the destruction of the weapons, GAM commander Irwandi Yusuf rightly pointed out that history was about to be made.

The Helsinki Memorandum of Understanding was the culmination of six months of consultation. It required GAM to renounce its long- held demand for full independence in exchange for political and economic privileges for the province and full amnesty for the former fighters. It also asked GAM to decommission its weapons and the military to withdraw most of its soldiers.

The burden to ensure implementation of it all fell on the shoulders of 200 mostly European observers. The Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM), as it is called, was also entrusted to act as prosecutor and judge in any dispute.

Considering Aceh’s history, the AMM’s mission seemed daunting, and the prospect for peace rather slim.

Acehnese have been fighting for a separate state since Dutch colonial times. The modern phase of the conflict started in 1976 and claimed anywhere from 9,000 to 15,000 lives.

In the course of the 29-year war, two peace agreements were inked and torn apart within days by the two warring sides, who distrusted each other deeply. Political positions were radicalised and there seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel.

Yet, this time around things were different. Aceh is still a devastated province, and its people are still grieving for the roughly 170,000 Acehnese who were swept away by the Dec. 26, 2004 tsunami.

Among those who survived, hundreds of thousands are still homeless. Their pain and tears have to a large extent dwarfed the meaning of politics.

As the world rallied to help and stood by watching, GAM and Jakarta immediately knew that the time for war was over.

The first guns were handed in on Sep. 15, just as the first group of soldiers waved the province goodbye from Banda Aceh’s harbour. It has been almost smooth sailing since.

Yet amidst the widespread optimism, analysts have highlighted a few potential problems on the way to a lasting peace.

In its recently released report, ‘Aceh so far so good’, the International Crisis Group (ICG) praised all the parties involved, adding that the peace process is working beyond all expectations.

At the same time, the think-tank highlighted several problems, among which the most pressing is the assimilation of the former fighters into society.

ICG noted that most of the former rebels remain unemployed. It also underlined a simmering unhappiness among some former fighters, who said they are receiving only part of the reintegration money paid by the government. According to ICG, such brewing resentment could lead to criminality.

“Leaders are driving big cars, while we are unemployed” and “We still have lots of weapons that we can use without orders from the leaders”, ICG quoted former rebels as saying.

GAM members were given a “reinsertion” assistance package of two million rupiah (200 U.S. dollars) each by the government. They are also eligible for two further safety net payments of 1.5 million rupiah in December and January. Long-term reintegration assistance is also part of the plan.

But GAM has not disclosed a list of its members, which means that the government pays the money to regional leaders who are then supposed to disburse it to the lower tiers of the organisation.

The leaders have acknowledged that part of the money due to the former fighters is retained and allocated to widows and orphans of dead rebels.

Other potential problems were pointed out by Aguswandi, a well- respected Acehnese human rights activist (who like many Indonesians goes by one name only). He said that the new Aceh Draft Law is not based on a large enough consensus in the province.

“The involvement of Acehnese civil society and marginalised groups was insignificant and very superficial in this drafting. The Draft Law tends to be very elitist and centralised in Banda Aceh. Even in the capital it only involves the elites,” Aguswandi told IPS. Consultations on the Draft Law started in Aceh in middle September. It has now been sent to the Indonesian Parliament, but discussion there will only start after the government submits its own Draft Law, likely some time in January 2006.

The final version of the Law is meant to enshrine the conditions laid out in the Helsinki Agreement and replace the 2001 Aceh Special Autonomy Law. It should also pave the way for GAM to transform itself from a fighting force into a political party. At present, the Indonesian Constitution does not allow the formation of regional political parties.

However, how Jakarta responds to the Draft Law is not by any means a foregone conclusion. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is firmly behind the peace accord, enjoys a clear majority in Parliament but opposition to the extent of concessions granted to GAM has been voiced even within his coalition.

“If the Draft is rejected or if the government won’t fulfil the promise of greater autonomy, the Acehnese might feel betrayed,” suggested Aguswandi.

But Damien Kingsbury, international and community development director at Australia’s Deakin University and the only non- Acehnese adviser to GAM during the peace talks, sounded optimistic.

“Initial responses to the draft legislation have been encouraging, but we’ll see. I trust it will still go through okay, as that is necessary to complete the agreement,” he told IPS.

Kingsbury also minimised the danger posed by the military-backed civilian militia still present in Aceh.

“The militias are still there, but all non-official weapons are now illegal so hopefully the police will do their job in that regard.

However, many people still feel insecure on both sides,” Kingsbury said before adding optimistically: “All in all I think the peace has gone over the point of no return”.