Vaudine England, Jakarta – The Indonesian Government has tried to buy hearts and minds in the troubled province of Aceh ahead of the separatists' declaration of independence anniversary today, but few believe the promises anymore.
The Acehnese plan to hold peaceful prayer meetings and quiet celebrations to mark the 25th anniversary of the declaration of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in the village of Banda. Similar gatherings will be held in other villages. Organisers say the security and logistics situation makes the mass transport of people unlikely.
In the absence of viable peace talks and the failure of a Humanitarian Pause agreement to bring even a break in hostilities, the atmosphere in the village is heavy with foreboding. More than 160 people have been killed since the renewal of the truce in September, and negligible aid has arrived for victims of violence as pledged in the agreement.
As with Irian Jaya, which celebrated its own failed independence anniversary on Friday, government forces appear to be pursuing various policies at the same time. Promising money and wide-ranging autonomy with one hand, it threatens heavy crackdowns and the impossibility of independence with the other.
Last month police arrested a leading student activist, Mohamad Nazar, who heads the Sira Centre for a Referendum for Aceh. Senior ministers have also warned GAM rebels that if they refuse to come to the negotiating table they will pursue plans to impose a civil emergency status on Aceh.
Alleged GAM bases have been raided and every few days police or troops are blamed for burning houses or market places in their search for presumed rebels.
Heavy rains and severe flooding have swept across parts of Aceh and West Sumatra, impeding free movement and dampening demonstration plans.
Indonesia President Abdurrahman Wahid claimed the new aid, worth US$10.5 million, had been planned for some time, and that its announcement just before the anniversary was coincidental. But it will be spent on battling the impact of the recent floods across Aceh.
Successive Jakarta governments have promised many things to Aceh, such as the mythical North Sumatra railway and the creation of a free port in Sabang. Nothing has been forthcoming.
If anything, clashes between security forces and GAM rebels have increased, with more lives lost each day than before the truce. GAM representatives have also refused to open a new session of talks on ways to calm the province.
Last year's celebrations were in the flush of euphoria following Mr Wahid's election, with his broad promises ringing in Acehnese ears. There were mass displays of GAM flags and slogans calling for a referendum rang out.
But a year later the mood is more sombre – few of the promises have been fulfilled, fighting continues and the display of separatist symbols will be likely to attract punishment. "The celebrations will go ahead but of course not like last year because the security situation is not as conducive as last year," said Abu Sofyan Daud, the GAM commander of the Pasee, or north Aceh, region.