Reconciliation is the Best Solution for Conflict in Aceh
Abstract
The history of the conflict in Aceh began in the pre-colonial era, during which the Acehnese fought the Dutch for more than three centuries. Conflict has continued for the last three decades between the Indonesian Central Government and the GAM (Free Aceh Movement). The GAM has waged its struggle using conventional and modified guerrilla tactics. The GAM leadership in exile has utilized Central Government and military weaknesses to their advantage, including the collapse of the authoritarian government in 1998 and the independence of East Timor afterward. They have also succeeded in exploiting the populace's grievances to create enemy images of Indonesian colonialism. The Central Government and military responses to conflict in Aceh have not changed much, and the military has always been the primary actor. Though military operations have been able to suppress the rebels, they also have had a negative impact on Acehnese society due to weaknesses within the military, such as unprofessional soldiers and a limited budget. Dialogue between GAM and the Central Government took place in 1999, but ended in failure in 2003, when the Central Government launched an integrated operation. As the rebel movement escalated, military action that led to the integrated operation was necessary and unavoidable to restore the government and law and order. Lessons learned from past rebellions show that military action alone will not be sufficient to win the war in Aceh. Aceh needs comprehensive policies to foster reconciliation and economic and governance rehabilitations. The move toward reconciliation is ending the hostilities between leaders and giving more incentives for rebels in the field to surrender. These ex-rebels need the trust that can be built by being given amnesty or a sentence reduction. Changes also are needed to improve the performance of the military. But reconciliation and societal development will not stop military action as long as the security of Aceh is threatene7
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA420364
Entities
People
- Supriyanto Basuki
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School