Raden Rachmadi, Jakarta – The result of the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) research in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province on March 8-18 shows that most of the people there yearn for the establishment of a local party.
"From the 77 percent of those surveyed in the Aceh ethnic group, 67 percent agree with the local party's existence in Aceh," said the head analyst of LSI, Anies Baswedan, reporting on the result of the "Peace and Local Politics in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam" survey, yesterday.
The survey took a sample of 1,015 respondents and applied the multistage random sampling method. The margin of error is around 3.1 percent at the level of reliability of 95 percent.
In the regional head election context, Anies went on to say, 64 percent of respondents agree with an independent governor, regent, and mayoral candidates. "Fifty-seven percent claimed to have heard that the coming regional head election will be direct," he said.
Sixty-two percent of the Acehnese are also certain that the direct regional head election will be without any pressure. However, according to Anies, in the area that formerly was the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) base, half of the respondents or 53 percent are certain that there will still be pressure. "This is due to past trauma," he said.
In response to the survey result, the Special Committee for the Aceh Government Draft Bill Chairman, Ferry Mursyidan Baldan does not view that the request for the legalization of the local political party as exclusive to the Aceh region.
The data also represents the hope of future politics in the area which was declared as Military Operations Area (DOM). "Local political parties are regarded as instruments to built the hope of politics in the future," said the Golkar Party politician.
Regarding security in Aceh, 76 percent of respondents say that it is improved and 73 percent say that there is progress in the peace process between GAM and the government, and 67 percent are certain that both sides will actually be in accordance with the Unifying State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).
Meanwhile, 48 percent of the Acehnese are certain GAM will stop its struggle to separate from Indonesia. According to Anies, it is clear after an analysis based on GAM's former territory. "Only four out of ten Acehnese in the territory claimed they are certain that GAM will not separate," he said.
However, a House of Representatives (DPR) member from Aceh, Ahmad Farhan Hamid, confirmed that GAM members will not be armed again fighting for their goal. He admitted having heard a statement of GAM prominent in a discussion in Aceh that if the government fails to live up to the Helsinki memorandum, GAM will not take up arms. "But they will continue to see what the government's value is in carrying out the memorandum," said Farhan.