Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The imminent victory of former rebel candidates in the Aceh gubernatorial election is a signal of the popularity the movement in the resource-rich province and Aceh people's rejection of Jakarta politics, observers say.
In the other regional elections across the province independent candidates are consistently polling in front of those endorsed by the traditional national political parties.
Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said Wednesday the early result of the gubernatorial poll giving a landslide win to the Irwandi Yusuf-M. Nazar pair was a message to Jakarta that Aceh wanted more action not more words.
"I think it's an expression of a desire for autonomy by the Acehnese. The message is that the central government must be more attentive to the Aceh people," he said.
Juwono said the failure of candidates endorsed by Jakarta-based political parties showed how badly Jakarta had treated Aceh in the past. "The people in Aceh are, as it turns out, not satisfied with how they were treated in the past. We accept this, and the central government needs to be prudent in developing Aceh," he said.
Rich with oil and gas, Aceh has long been a key source of revenue for Jakarta but little of this money has so far trickled down to the local economy.
Unhappy with such treatment, Hassan Tiro and like-minded people in Aceh declared the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in 1976 to seek independence from Indonesia, and fought a three-decade guerrilla war with the military.
Thousands of civilians were killed or forced to flee their homes during the repressive Soeharto regime, especially during a military crackdown from 1989 through 1998. From May 2003 to December the following year, Jakarta again imposed martial law on the province and barred foreigners and journalists from entering it.
The conflict officially ended last year when Jakarta and GAM leaders, many of whom still reside abroad, signed a peace agreement in Helsinki.
The head of the National Resilience Institute, a military think-thank, Muladi, said GAM candidates' imminent victories proved the appeal of the movement to the Acehnese. "This shows that there needs to be special attention and policy implementation in Aceh as long as the elected governor remains committed to Indonesia and the Constitution," he said.
With the victory, Muladi said GAM should immediately disband or Jakarta would think it was planning to abandon the peace agreement. The movement finished disarming last year.
Muladi, who is a senior member of the Golkar Party, said he was surprised at the ballot count, which he said was the result of the "selfishness" of political parties. "If only these parties grouped together and supported specific candidates, we could have won the elections," he said.
Eight pairs of candidates contested the gubernatorial election, six of which competed with the support of political parties.
Institute for Human Rights Advocacy director Ifdhal Kasim said the results clearly proved the public's frustration with Jakarta. It showed how national political parties need to change how they campaigned and should quit depending on their "polished" images.
Aceh is the first and the only province in the country where independent candidates are allowed to run for office. It will also be the first province to introduce local political parties.