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 Human rights activist Ahmad Humam Hamid"Acehnese have undergone a lot of human rights abuses"  real 28k Nasrullah Tahlawi, United People of Aceh"We want outright independence" real 28kPresident Abdurrahman Wahid"Martial law would create more problems than we have now" real 28k |
Analysis: Indonesia needs Aceh
Acehnese take their message to the Indonesian parliament |
By News Online's Joe Havely
Indonesia's new President, Abdurrahman Wahid, was never going to enjoy much of a political honeymoon.
 Aceh can live without Indonesia, but Indonesia cannot live without Aceh  |
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Dewi Fortuna Anwar Former presidential spokeswoman |
These demands are not new, but many Acehnese feel that they now have a precedent and their protests have grown even louder.
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But the staunchly-Muslim territory has also been the scene of a long running and bloody separatist struggle whose roots go back centuries.
Evidence of atrocities
Acehnese are demanding they be given the choice to cut ties |
Thousands of people are thought to have been killed - many seized from their homes and never heard from again.
The army insists it has only operated against separatist rebels, but human rights organisations say there is also mounting evidence of atrocities committed against ordinary civilians. Hundreds of bodies have been unearthed from unmarked graves.
Amnesty International says that for years the army was allowed virtually free reign in Aceh.
If we do it in East Timor, why not in Aceh |
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President Wahid 4 November 1999 |
But he finds himself in a difficult position trying not to antagonise the still-powerful military who traditionally regard themselves as the defenders of Indonesian unity.
Shortly after taking power, Mr Wahid offered what briefly appeared to be a major concession: Aceh would be allowed to hold a referendum on its future.
Chain reaction
President Wahid is under pressure from the army and the separatists |
They fear that letting Aceh go its own way could pave the way for other outlying provinces such as Irian Jaya or Sulawesi to demand independence. That could spark a chain reaction tearing Indonesia apart.
As Dewi Fortuna Anwar - the former spokeswoman for President Habibie - said in a recent interview: "Aceh can live without Indonesia, but Indonesia cannot live without Aceh."
To let the Acehnese go, she says, would be to invite the dismemberment of the whole archipelago into dozens of potentially-unstable little republics - a kind of South-East Asian Yugoslavia.
We fight for an independent state, so there can be no discussion about autonomy |
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Nasrullah Tahlawi United People of Aceh |
Neither is acceptable to the Acehnese separatists who have been fighting a bitter guerrilla war against Indonesian rule. For Nasrullah Tahlawi, chief spokesman of the pro-independence United People of Aceh, nothing less than full independence will do.
"We are ready to face any consequences - 99.9% of Acehnese are now ready to fight for an independent state," he told the BBC in a recent interview.
Military pressure
Far from calming things down, President Wahid's proposal has been met with an increase in pro-independence demonstrations and unrest in the province.
Acehnese guerrillas have been waging a long war against Indonesian rule |
The thinking among civilian leaders seems to be that some concession will have to be made to the Acehnese, most likely by bringing to account those in the military thought to be responsible for atrocities committed in the province.
They argue that only by making an example of the military leaders who allowed civilians to be killed in such great numbers can Aceh be persuaded to remain a part of Indonesia.
But Mr Wahid's government is still new and still very weak and cannot risk confrontation with a military long used to getting its own way.
For them and many other Indonesians the issue of Aceh extends well beyond the province's borders - the whole integrity of their country is at stake.
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See also: |
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04 Nov 99 | Asia-Pacific |
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Wahid backs Aceh ballot |
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06 May 99 | Asia-Pacific |
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Eyewitness: Aceh campaigns for self-rule |
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23 Aug 99 | From Our Own Correspondent |
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Aceh: Still dreaming of freedom |
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08 Nov 99 | Asia-Pacific |
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In pictures: Acehnese on the streets |
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Internet links: |
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BBC Indonesian Service |
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"Getting Away With Murder" - report by Amnesty International |
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Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
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Indonesian Armed Forces |
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