A leader of a breakaway faction of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) was killed in Malaysia just hours before a "humanitarian pause" in Aceh was to take affect. Don Zulfahri, secretary general of the GAM Government Council (GAM MP), was shot twice by an unidentified gunman in a restaurant in Malaysia late on June 1.
Elements of the Indonesia military and other factions of GAM have been blamed for his death. In either case, it is likely other factional leaders will face a similar fate, or simply fade into the background. Both the government and the GAM have an interest in eliminating the leaders of splinter groups in advance of negotiations over the fate of the embattled province.
A resource-rich province on Indonesia's Sumatra, Aceh sits at the mouth of the Strait of Malacca, the gateway between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Torn by a Muslim secessionist struggle, Aceh threatens to set off a domino effect, fueling separatist and religious movements across the archipelago into neighboring Malaysia.
GAM has been fighting for an independent Acehnese state for two and a half decades under the leadership of Hasan di Tiro, who is currently based in Sweden.
In November 1999, a rift that had been forming within the organization broke open, and Zulfahri established GAM MP in Malaysia. Zulfahri claimed that di Tiro was in poor health and unable to continue to lead the struggle, something di Tiro supporters vehemently denied.
The split gave the Indonesian government an opening. Di Tiro had insisted on negotiations through a third party and firmly supported an armed independence movement. Zulfahri was reportedly more willing to embark on a direct dialogue with the Indonesian government, and opposed to the use of violence to achieve independence.
Back channel talks between the GAM and the Indonesian government began, but with the larger di Tiro faction. These talks led to the signing of a "joint understanding on humanitarian pause" in Switzerland on May 12. Hours before the implementation of the nominal three-month cease-fire agreement took effect June 2, Zulfahri was killed.
Members of Hasan di Tiro's faction of GAM blamed elements of the Indonesian military, claiming Zulfahri was working for the military to undermine the group from the inside, and was killed off now that he was no longer needed. GAM's allegations were backed by Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid's special representative to the group; he also suggested elements of the military were involved.
Other accusations have been leveled at di Tiro's GAM supporters, who had previously labeled Zulfahri a traitor and called for him to be brought in, dead or alive. In advance of the first direct talks with the government, di Tiro needed to reassert his control over the entire Free Aceh Movement.
Whether a victim of the Indonesian military or of another faction of the GAM, Zulfahri's death sends a clear signal to other factional leaders in Aceh. Targeting a high-profile but more moderate leader lessens the potential for a violent backlash.
At the same time, it makes it clear that for serious negotiations between GAM and the government to proceed, a unified Acehnese leadership must be established.
For GAM, this situation provides a better, more secure bargaining position in talks with the government. For Jakarta, more dead factional leaders means that the chances of continued armed struggle will be minimized if a deal is inked. While Zulfahri is the first factional leader to be killed, he may not be the last.