#1 One good source of opinion and information about these matters is the voice of Sidney Jones, the South East Asia Project Director of the International Crisis Group. In a BBC piece, Will Indonesia seize its chance? she writes:The tsunami disaster that struck Aceh could change the dynamics of the long-running conflict there between government forces and pro-independence fighters - but only if the relief effort is well handled. If it isn't, resentment of Acehnese toward the central government could increase, and we could all be back to square one. Aceh has a proud history of resisting outside rule. * * * Last September, the Indonesian military claimed that since martial law, it had killed 2,879 Gam members, arrested 1,798 and accepted the surrender of 1,954. * * * The tsunami hit only a few months into the presidency of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who promised during his campaign to look for non-military solutions to Aceh. But he put no new ideas on the table and, in November, he extended the state of emergency in Aceh for another six months. * * * The relief and reconstruction efforts now underway will help keep Aceh open, and this in turn will likely lead to pressure for an end to the emergency. It will not lead to negotiations with the rebels, because the military is dead set against the idea, convinced that talking is a sign of weakness, that it gives Gam legitimacy that it does not deserve, and that it would undo all its efforts to crush the insurgency by force. Can military operations and a state of emergency co-exist with a huge international relief effort without running into serious friction? If the Indonesian military continue to work alongside relief agencies and cannot separate its humanitarian and counterinsurgency roles, it could undermine what should be the apolitical nature of humanitarian relief. * * * In many parts of Aceh, dissatisfaction with the government tends to lead to support for Gam, despite the latter's none-too-stellar record on human rights. If the government does not get in place a smooth machine for delivering aid, we are going to have anger at Jakarta, and in some areas, a new rationale for recruitment into the insurgency. The problem is that the same old government institutions, mired in corruption, incompetence and inertia, have been mobilized for a task that is larger than they have ever had to handle before, and it is not clear that they are up to the job. This disaster has created opportunities for conflict resolution. The question is whether anyone will seize them. |
Indonesia has announced all foreigners and aid groups must seek official approval and be escorted on any travel in Aceh province outside of the capital, Banda Aceh, and the town of Meulaboh. For nearly two years, the Indonesian military has been waging an often brutal military campaign against separatists in Aceh, largely free of attention from the media. It had imposed tough entry and movement restrictions in Aceh which went out the window when the disaster struck. But with the military still waging war, General Endriartono Sutarto has announced that armed forces must accompany and monitor aid groups and foreigners on all missions outside Banda Aceh and Meulaboh. Indonesia's coordinating minister for people's welfare, Alwi Shihab, says more vaguely that Indonesian teams will accompany aid movements. The International Crisis Group disputes the military's motives, saying the rebels have no interest in attacking foreigners. It says the Indonesian Army is seeking to reimpose its rigid control on Aceh province, while it still has the chance.