Asia Times: Wahid on a knife-edge over Aceh


	May 24, 2000	atimes.com

Southeast Asia

Wahid on a knife-edge over Aceh
By Kafil Yamin

JAKARTA - Few doubt the sincere desire of Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid for justice for victims of human rights abuses in Aceh province, but critics fear the government's recent moves could lead to disintegration of the country.

Despite strong opposition from various quarters at home, Wahid went ahead with signing a truce with Aceh separatists in an agreement called ''The Joint Understanding on Humanitarian Pause''. The pact was signed in Davos, Switzerland, by Indonesia's permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Hassan Wirajuda, and the health minister of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) on May 12.

The truce was reached after three rounds of dialogue facilitated by the Henri Dunant Center for Humanitarian Dialogue in Switzerland. All items in the accord will come into effect on June 2, and will be reviewed after three months. The ''humanitarian pause'' includes the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Acehnese affected by the conflict, and security arrangements to support the relief operations and reduce tension.

And last week, a joint military-civilian court handed 24 soldiers and one civilian jail terms ranging from eight-and-a-half to 10 years for last year's massacre at a boarding school in Aceh. The killings had fueled the strong desire of many Acehnese for independence, after more than a decade of virtual military rule in the restive province under former president Suharto

The two recent events appear to signal movement on the Aceh question, after years of suppression under the Suharto government.

But critics say the truce is not a good sign because the Aceh problem is an internal affair that should be dealt with at home, and warn of implications for Indonesia's national sovereignty, especially after East Timor last year voted to separate from the country.

The fact that the truce was deliberated in Switzerland, under the auspices of a third party, the Henri Dunant Center, has been the basis of allegations in Jakarta of diplomatic misconduct. For instance, international relations expert Dewi Fortuna Anwar, a former adviser to former president B J Habibie, calls the pact a ''diplomatic blunder''.

''The accord was signed at a secret location abroad and it was signed by Indonesia's highest ranking representative at the UN mission there. It can suggest that Indonesia recognizes GAM as a sovereign external entity,'' she said. ''The place is too far from Indonesia, but too close to the headquarters of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva.''

People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) chairman Amien Rais joined the chorus, saying the accord could be politicized by certain foreign powers. ''If the humanitarian accord is elevated to a political level, then the Indonesian government and GAM could be on equal footing. And if each problem rising from the accord should be brought to [an] international forum, that could be the initial process of Aceh separation from Indonesia,'' he said earlier this month.

But Wahid has received credit from rights groups. ''The move is indeed a brilliant breakthrough to the prolonged conflict, violence, and human tragedy in the province,'' said Julius Usman, a member of the Commission II faction in parliament. ''All Acehnese have been sick of violence and are desperately longing for peace. Peace and the end of violence should come [before] the trivial diplomatic procedures.''

The Acehnese have shown strong support for the truce, with thousands thronging mosques and schools on May 12, the day it was signed, to pray for its success.

''We all are hoping this works out. Please don't let the people down. I cannot imagine what it would be like if the peace accord fails,'' said Iqbal Faraby, chairman of the Aceh branch of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas-HAM).

Wahid has asked the military to make an official apology to the Acehnese for past violence and rights abuses. He has also allowed the summoning and questioning of top military officers over the violence in Aceh. He says he understands the fears of critics, but stresses that his government does not recognize GAM. He does, however, accept the reality that GAM does not recognize the Indonesian government either.

As to the role of the Henri Dunant Center, Wahid says it was he who encouraged the institution to help promote humanitarian ways of solving the Aceh conflict when he visited Switzerland in January.

But, warns Amien Rais: ''If Aceh's fate turns out to be like that of East Timor, he [Wahid] will have a big problem.''

(Inter Press Service)

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