CIAO DATE: 10/2008
September 2008
Three years after the 15 August 2005 signing of the Helsinki Memorandum of Understanding between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, GAM), Aceh is politically vibrant but on edge. The sources of unease are several. As preparations get underway for the April 2009 parliamentary elections with 44 parties - six local, 38 national - in contention, the military is worried about Partai Aceh, the GAM party, winning control of local legislatures and challenging Jakarta's authority. Partai Aceh is worried about overt or covert interference from Jakarta, and smaller parties are worried about intimidation by Partai Aceh. Election officials are concerned a dispute between Jakarta and Aceh over candidate requirements could delay the polls, and other struggles with the central government are brewing. Everyone is worried about the health of Governor Irwandi Yusuf, a GAM leader with unparalleled ability to manage competing demands in post-conflict Aceh, who suffered a sudden illness - officially undisclosed but widely reported as a slight stroke - in August.
The campaign to create two new provinces within Aceh is heating up, although there is no chance of a division before the elections. But in two districts leading the campaign, Bener Meriah and Central Aceh, there is real concern about possible violence between ex-militia and GAM, especially if local candidates deliberately fuel anti-GAM sentiment.
In addition, incidents of armed criminal activity continue to plague the province, many of them involving former GAM combatants. The level of unemployment among former rebels remains high, as does disgruntlement in GAM ranks about perceived inequitable distribution of reintegration benefits. Many members of GAM's former military structure, now called Komite Peralihan Aceh (KPA), continue to demand cuts from businesses and public contracts and engage in other forms of thuggish activity. There are also criminals who use GAM's name to generate fear but have only tangential links to the organisation. GAM leaders from the governor on down have stated repeatedly that the police can and should prosecute anyone responsible for criminal offences regardless of affiliation, but the problem goes beyond law enforcement to the unaccountable nature of the KPA itself.
For many GAM leaders, the central question remains full implementation of the Helsinki agreement, or even full implementation of the Law on the Governing of Aceh (Law 11/2006), the watered down legal embodiment of the pact. The content of the law's implementing regulations has become a struggle between bureaucrats in Jakarta, many of whom see Aceh as just another province, and political leaders in Aceh determined to make self-government a reality. It is the latter stance that political conservatives, including many in the military, too often interpret as separatist.
In the midst of the pre-poll anxiety, the immediate goal should be to ensure that the lead-up to the election is violence-free. The longer-term goal is to ensure that the central government and donors do not simply write Aceh off as a success story and move on to other things. Jakarta needs to accept that autonomy in Aceh is not yet complete, and GAM needs to bring the KPA under control. The peace is sustainable, but no one should take it for granted.
Resource link: Indonesia: Pre-Election Anxieties in Aceh [PDF] - 531K