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Eyewitness: Aceh campaigns for self-rule

The message students have painted on the road is spelled out in letters two metres high - bold enough to reach all the way to Jakarta. They want a referendum which would allow their province of Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra, to choose its own future, inside or outside the republic of Indonesia.

A year after the fall of President Suharto, and in the run-up to national elections, anti-Jakarta sentiment is on the rise.

A decades-old separatist struggle, deeply stained in blood, has taken on the guise of peaceful, sixties-style agit-prop, but the popular anger that fuels the campaign is as intense as ever - and protests are gaining strength.

"We can't stand being part of Indonesia," says one man, "so many people have died here over the years. We demand our independence."

Potential for violence continues

In mid-April, truckloads of school students descended on the town of Lhokseumawe, brandishing the illegal flag of an independent state of Aceh.

A contingent of riot police and soldiers were ready for them. When the students refused to disperse, the police opened fire. At least thirty protesters were injured, and one 17-year-old youth died from a bullet to the chest.

The parents of the dead boy, Ahmiedi Bin Mohamed Natsir, nurse their grief and anger at home in a village outside Lhokseumawe:

"Deep in my heart I know that our struggle must go on, says Ahmedi's mother, "but it is still so hard in accept that my son had to be a victim."

Increased confidence

Aceh's staunchly Islamic character has long been a driving force within the campaign for an independent state. So has a tradition of militancy that kept the colonising Dutch forces at bay for years.

But in the post-Suharto era, the Free Aceh Movement has become bolder.

The guerrilla struggle goes on but separatist leaders like Ismail Shaputra are now able to publicise their demands with a new-found confidence: "We will fight for independence - just one word. Not for autonomy, not for federations, just one word - independence - free from Indonesia."

To many Achinese, the Indonesian army is the enemy, with its role in the brutal suppression of the 1980s far from forgotten. While the military has apologised for its past misdeeds, its role of safeguarding the authority of Jakarta is unchanged.

Johnny Wahab, a spokesman for the Indonesian Armed Forces is confident that rebellion will fail:

"A separatist rebellion here cannot succeed - the rebel movement is simply not strong enough. If they really want their own state in Aceh they should abide by the law, and do it through their representatives in parliament."

Patience running out

But that sort of patience was exhausted long ago. The torched government buildings on the main road out of Lhokseumawe testify to that.

The under-development of such a fertile and mineral-rich province is another source of deep antagonism towards Jakarta.

The campaign under way is about more than just self-rule. Aceh is home to a natural gas plant which is one of Indonesia's biggest earners of hard currency. It is an economic asset that the government in Jakarta could scarcely afford to let go.

The crowds at the regular pro-independence rallies have little faith in President Habibie's promises of a bigger share in their province's wealth, or of justice for past crimes committed by the armed forces.

The momentum towards separatism both here and in other parts of Indonesia is gathering pace, and the authorities in Jakarta have every reason for alarm.

Relevant Stories

Army kills 18 in Aceh violence (03 May 99 | Asia-Pacific)
Indonesia starts voter registration (05 Apr 99 | Asia-Pacific)
Indonesian police lose army grip (01 Apr 99 | Asia-Pacific)
Deaths as police shoot at crowd (04 Feb 99 | Asia-Pacific)
Four die in Indonesian police raid (10 Jan 99 | Asia-Pacific)
Habibie issues unity call (05 Jan 99 | Asia-Pacific)

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