[Lantak] JP - On the New Acheh Law

Wed, 19 Jul 2006 14:37:54 -0700

The Jakartapost, 20 July 2006

The new Aceh Law: Acceptability vs interest
Imanuddin Razak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
 
 
Despite the cool response in Jakarta and the provincial capital of Banda Aceh, a general strike in several towns in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam has at least exhibited that there is opposition to the July 11, 2006, passage of the Aceh Governance Law by the House of Representatives.
 
Still, the general strike in Aceh, which was held on the same day the House plenary session announced its approval of the law, again demonstrates to the general public that the protesters did not really know what they were opposed to, because they did not even know the exact content of the endorsed law.
 
Probably part of an orchestrated move, activists also have argued that the law failed to live up to the principles stipulated in the memorandum of understanding signed in Helsinki on Aug. 15, 2005, particularly in curtailing the power of the local administration in international cooperation and management of natural resources.
 
Coming at it from a different angle, human rights watchdog the Aceh Working Group said the law failed to meet the demands of the Acehnese, whose basic rights had been trampled for decades. It said the law only benefited the violators of human rights and those who reaped financial gains from the longstanding conflict.
 
The Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA) issued a statement saying the law had to be revised immediately because it contravened the spirit of the 2005 peace deal. The law was an even worse deal than the 2001 Aceh Special Autonomy Law, which was enacted in a bid to appease separatists by allowing the application of Islamic law in the province, the center said.
 
As non-governmental organizations in Aceh are plainly opposed to the law, the Acehnese are split down the middle, with the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) still undecided over the issue. Some GAM officials have declined to comment on the passage of the law before studying its content.
 
The law is now in the hands of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who, by the authority invested in him by the Constitution, is expected to sign the law soon to make it a formal state legal product.
 
Though the ratio between supporters and opponents to the law is not clear, the House deserves praise for the passage of the law, even if it was over three months later than the March 31, 2006, deadline recommended by the Helsinki agreement.
 
Apart from responding to the opposition movement, the government has been busy campaigning for a united Aceh in the wake of the law's enactment, with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono himself visiting the province last Friday to convince and ask the Acehnese not to get trapped in the euphoria surrounding the passage of the law, but to work together for the betterment of themselves and Aceh in general.
 
The question will be what the Acehnese should do in response to the newly endorsed law.
 
As part of a democratic society, the Acehnese have the right to express their opinions, namely opposing the new law. Yet, they must bear in mind that any moves to question the accountability and acceptability of the law should not hamper development programs, which have long been delayed due to decades of conflict in the past and the December 2004 tsunami in the province.
 
Aceh has been left behind in almost every aspect of development and it cannot wait for even another year. Aceh and its people must put in extra effort in order to catch up with the other provinces.
For example, while other provinces have made efforts to improve the quality of their education systems, Aceh has only just completed the construction of school buildings after the tsunami.
Still, all those burdens should not be borne by the people alone. The Aceh administration, including its security and defense forces, should work at keeping the peace in the province, so development programs are not hampered.
 
Similar calls should also be addressed to GAM that not every problem should be the ignition for calls of separatism. By accepting the new law, if it does, GAM is bound to follow Indonesia's legal, political and economic system.
 
And if GAM does not accept the law, there is the legal mechanism to address its opposition -- that is through the law-making bodies, either at the provincial or national level.
 
Otherwise, we should start asking the question: whose aspirations does GAM fight for?
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