| Indonesian province on the verge of new bloodshed Yesterday the ultimatum presented by Jakarta to the leaders of the Free Aceh Movement (FMA) expired. The province, located in the north of the island of Sumatra, faces a continuation of 26 years of bloodshed that has claimed at least 12 thousand lives. The only hope is for the resumption of negotiations.
The Islamist DSA was founded in 1976 by Hasan Tiro, a descendant of the last Sultan of Aceh. He now lives in Sweden (Jakarta has been demanding his extradition in vain) and still maintains that the sultanate, unlike Indonesia, was never a Dutch colony. It follows that when Indonesia gained independence in 1949, Aceh did not become part of it and continued to maintain sovereignty. The material basis for separatism is the oil wealth of the backward outskirts of Sumatra.
In the war for power, for the possession of natural resources between fellow Muslims - DSA militants and government troops - up to 200 people died every day. In 1989-1998, the Suharto regime introduced martial law in Aceh, which completely destroyed the administrative and economic infrastructure of the province. After Suharto left, the European Union, the United States and Japan insisted on dialogue between the warring parties. Since 1999, the Swiss Henri Dunant Center (CHD), a non-governmental organization with experience in resolving protracted interethnic and interfaith conflicts, has acted as a mediator.
On December 9 last year, delegations of the country's government and the DSA agreed on the need to sign a peace agreement. The militants had to lay down their weapons in special warehouses, and the Indonesian army had to retreat to defensive positions. To monitor the implementation of the agreement, a committee was created with the participation of representatives of Jakarta, DSA and Central Asia, which called for the assistance of fifty international observers.
In recent days, inspectors have hastily evacuated from Aceh. None of the warring parties fulfilled the terms of the agreement. The DSA was preparing a referendum on Aceh's secession from Indonesia. In response, the Sukarnoputri government threatened a large-scale “anti-terrorist operation”, established a naval blockade of the province and increased the size of its military force in Aceh to 30 thousand people. And the 3 thousand DSA militants often use mines and land mines, so the Indonesian intelligence services accused the separatists of organizing the recent explosions in Jakarta.
Jakarta is uncompromising. “Honestly, what we are doing or will do in Aceh,” said Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda, “cannot be compared with what America did in Iraq.” Alexander SAMOKHOTKIN |
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