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.