James Balowski, Jakarta – The government of Megawati Sukarnoputri declared martial law in Indonesia's northern-most province of Aceh last May. It launched an "integrated operation" to smash the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and restore "law and order".
Since then, hundreds of civilians have been killed, wounded or disappeared and thousands more are languishing in disease-ridden refugee camps. Foreign journalists and non-government organisations (NGOs) have been barred from the province. Human rights groups have been shut down, as activists flee, fearing for their lives.
Aceh is now completely sealed off, much like East Timor was under the Suharto dictatorship's brutal 24-year occupation.
On April 5, Indonesians will go to the polls to elect new national, regional and local parliaments. The country will be inundated with foreign election observers, who will want to see the elections in Aceh conducted in a democratic and open manner.
The military, however, has already made it clear that it will tightly control election campaigning and the dissemination of information, in order to ensure that the elections are not "disrupted by irresponsible parties for their own interests".
Foreign observers
Following a cabinet session on March 12, the government declared that Aceh would be open to foreign observers but with "certain restrictions". Recently retired minister for politics and security Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told the February 13 Aceh daily Serambi Indonesia: "The principal is, to maintain transparency and accountability. The elections throughout Indonesia, including Aceh, are open to foreign observers."
However, it is already clear that the regime is deeply concerned about what the observers might see. The head of the Aceh emergency military command (PDMD), Major General Endang Suwarya, told Serambi on February 14: "Every single foreign national who enters Aceh, whether they be a journalist, be they from an NGO or an observer, all of them must obtain permission [from the military]. If they are found to have entered without permission, they will definitely be deported from Aceh."
Claiming there was a risk that foreign nationals might be taken hostage by GAM, he went on to say, "what is clear is that the arrival of foreign nationals in Aceh causes a great deal of problems... [and] we do not trust them at all", adding that "they mustn't stir up trouble here".
Earlier, the People's Representative Assembly (DPR) had formally asked the PDMD to restrict observers' movements in order to "better monitor their work".
"[This request is] so that they only observe the organisation of the elections. And if their activities go beyond this it will be a violation. So, there need to be clear rules on the activities which are carried out by foreign observers", DPR deputy chairperson Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno told journalists on March 5.
Previously, he added, foreigners have been found entering Aceh to "provide secret reports to overseas countries". On these grounds, each foreign observer must be watched "super tightly". "We are concerned that what will be reported later will not be the elections, but other matters", Soerjogoeritno said.
More recently, the PDMD has said that observers will be restricted to particular sub-districts in each regency – chosen, of course, by the military – and will be accompanied at all times by a police officer.
Rights violations
The Megawati regime's concerns are well-founded. A recent report by the National Commission on Human Rights ad hoc team for Aceh said that it found indications of gross human rights violations, most of which were committed by the military.
According to the March 10 Jakarta Post, the report includes accusations of "attacks against unarmed civilians, including victims who were murdered, tortured, sexually abused or raped, or others whom the court had not yet proved were rebels".
"The attacks involved high ranking political and military authorities", the report said.
The team found that the attacks followed a specific pattern: First, the victim or victim's relative would be accused of being a GAM member or protecting a GAM member. Then, the victim would be shot dead, or kidnapped and murdered later.
On March 14, the Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA) issued a statement accusing the military of intimidation and violence before the elections.
SIRA said that soldiers shot dead a village chief in Pidie district on December 12 because he refused to cooperate over election arrangements. It said troops from the Kostrad strategic reserve abducted a vocal figure in the Ranto Panyang area of East Aceh on January 29. The man's body, showing mutilation and torture marks, was found a day later. According to SIRA, troops or police in at least three parts of East Aceh threatened village chiefs that they would shoot people if the elections did not run smoothly.
The military has also stepped up its campaign against pro-democracy activists. Between February 19 and 23 there was a wave of arrests and abductions of student activists. This followed accusations by the Acehnese Democratic Women's Organisation (ORPAD) that the military was giving preferential treatment during ID "sweeps" to members of political parties linked to or backed by the military.
In a statement carried by the Jakarta daily Kompas on February 19, ORPAD chairperson Raihana Diani said: "This could become a form of coercion by the emergency military command to [get people to] vote for political parties which have the blessing of the military." The report carried similar accusations by the Aceh Media Election Watch, Aceh-Papua Solidarity and the Centre for Electoral Reform.
Although most have been released, several were severely tortured during detention and three now face charges of treason, which carries the maximum penalty of death.
According to Acehnese activists, at least 20 pro-democracy activists are now on a military wanted list and have fled to Java. One of these, Mohammad bin Toyib, was arrested by police in Bandung, West Java on March 1. He was accused of being an aide to the GAM finance minister, and was reportedly "transferred" to the provincial capital, Banda Aceh. His whereabouts is now unknown and there are grave fears for his safety.
Pessimism
According to a March 17 report by Agence France Presse, Ishak Daud, the GAM operations commander in East Aceh, said the security presence is so intense that he expects all electors to cast ballots to avoid physical reprisals. "We urge them to vote rather than be beaten", Daud told AFP, adding that GAM will not seek to disrupt the polls.
Many Acehnese people are pessimistic about the elections. Banda Aceh resident Iskandar told the February 3 Jakarta Post that he was uninterested in the elections because previous elections had not improved day-to-day life.
Muhammad Jamal, also from Banda Aceh, agreed. "Long before the launch of the military operations last June (sic), we were prohibited to express our aspirations. The more people make a noise, the more they are killed or arrested", he said.
"Like others, I will probably go to the ballot booth to cast my vote – but I am not doing it of my own free will. If I don't vote, I [will be] considered a supporter of GAM."
If foreign observers are unable to freely monitor the elections, questions will inevitably be asked. This is the quandary facing the regime. With no end to the economic and political crisis in sight, and an increasingly skeptical and angry electorate, the regime desperately needs the elections to legitimise its rule. On the other hand, it is clear that they are not prepared to risk foreign observers witnessing what is really happening in Aceh.
According to Tempo Interactive on March 6, the National Elections Commission (KPU) said that to date, no foreign observers – either organisations or individuals – have arrived in Aceh. "There is not a single election observer who has informed [us] that they have entered Aceh", said KPU member Ridwan Ishak. It seems that in the face of these restrictions, foreign observers have simply decided not to bother.