Mr Chairman and Ladies and Gentlemen:

Let me focus my talk of on peace-building and the role of Acehnese civil society, as that is the only way that the human rights situation can be improved.

Let me start by saying this: nobody is winning the war in Aceh at the moment, not Indonesian government, not the Free Aceh Movement, not the people of Indonesia, and obviously not Acehnese. Indeed, all of us are the losers of the present war in Aceh. So far, the only winner of the war in Aceh is the Indonesia military, but not in terms of the war itself, because the operation has not achieved a significant progress. For example, not a single top commander of GAM has been captured.

However, the victory of the military is in terms of their ability to exploit the problem of Aceh to regain their domination in Indonesian politics. While Acehnese are becoming the visible victims of the war at the moment, the Indonesian people and their democracy, their dream of reform, are the invisible victims of the war in Aceh. The Indonesian military has exploited the war in Aceh to argue that they are the only group who should be in charge in dealing with the political crisis in Indonesia. On behalf of the war in Aceh, they control the media, challenge all activists, and they impose many restrictions. All opponents of the war will be stamped as unpatriotic.

But can Indonesia military really solve the problem of Aceh? History has told us they could not in the past, and the present situation is showing us they still cannot. In reality what they are doing in Aceh has only been to turn Aceh into a theater of the absurd. Since martial law started there has been a collective punishment toward the Acehnese. It becomes a war against all Acehnese, both those who are against Jakarta and those who are not. People are being forced to show their loyalty. Acehnese from different
political spectrums are forced to sing the national anthem loudly and clearly, because the ability to sing the national anthem in Aceh is becoming the matter life and death. There is a screening of all civil servants to identify their loyalty. People are required to hold new Merah Putih (red and white) KTP; everywhere there are road-blocks, sweepings, and the recruitment of militia. While in other places in Indonesia people have taken down the national flag after independence-day celebrations, in Aceh the anniversary has not ended. People continue to hold the flag to show their loyalty. In every corner of Aceh there are Merah Putih flags. And now the military commander is signing authorizing a permanent war in Aceh and forcing the locals to demand the extension of martial status.

In order to show that the military respects human rights and cares about civilians, there is a trial toward some soldiers who are accused of beating and torturing civilians. But is this really a sign of change? Of course not, because it will certainly not stop other soldiers from committing atrocities in Aceh. Everyone knows very well that they did nothing that other Indonesian soldiers have not done in Aceh.

Military operations have not, cannot, and will never solve the problem of Aceh. After all, the conflict in Aceh is political, and therefore a political solution is the way to solve it and not military one. The political solution should be found through dialogue. It is requires a genuine dialogue between the people of Aceh and Jakarta, one which would lead to a communication about what kind of society they are going to build.

There is no easy way of solving the conflict in Aceh. It was wrong of Megawati to say last week in New York that the government is exhausted making dialogue about Aceh. In my opinion, the Indonesian government has not spent as much time in dialogue with or listening to Acehnese as the length of time being spent to carry out the military operation in Aceh. Several negotiation meetings are not enough time to hope that the problem can be settled. The conflict has been going on for over many years and the
evolution of the conflict has reached point in which the situation is much more complex.

In addition, the complexity of the problem of Aceh is also enhanced by problems in Indonesian politics. It is impossible to tell the story of this senseless war in Aceh without also trying to tell the story of the Jakarta politics that precipitated it. So the political environment in Indonesia itself is the problem. Politics in Indonesia in the post new order are still very messy.

The political situation in Indonesia is an obstacle for solving the crisis in Aceh. The problem of impunity has not been dealt with; the problem of corruption, the problem of justice, all contribute to the inability to solve the problem of Aceh. Reform has set back. Many government critics have said that the reform agenda (reformasi) is dead.

Therefore, under no circumstances can we find a political solution for the conflict easily, because the conflict is getting more complex and the political situation in Indonesia is also not helpful at all. But the difficulty to solve Ache’s problem does not mean that we should let the Indonesian military run the show. The Indonesian military is not the source of stability. Over time, they have been the cause of instability, violence and destruction of both Acehnese and Indonesian society.

Therefore, the Indonesian government must stop the present senseless war and resume their dialogue with the Acehnese. A new kind of creativity should be found. Specifically, Acehnese civil society should also be involved in dialogue process. Both Indonesia and GAM have to agree to the involvement of civil society in the process.

Civil society is the potential element in this gloomy situation of Indonesian politics and the conflict of Aceh. Acehnese civil society is the sources of optimism for creating a better situation. People have been talking a lot about the story of Aceh in terms of the continuation of killing, the story of death toll, the destruction of life and humanity. There is the other story of Aceh, beside this destruction that the story of Acehnese civil society. The story of them is a story of hope, creativity and optimism. The conflict in Aceh has given rise to a new generation of Acehnese civil society who want to create a better life for both Aceh and Indonesia. For them the discourse of the conflict is not simply about nation self determination, but it is beyond that. It is about people self-determination for both Acehnese and Indonesia. For civil society the struggle in Aceh is not the struggle of a certain ethnic group who is asking international community for the right of a self-rule for the sake of having our state. It is a not about territory, but it is about people, again both people, Acehnese and Indonesia.

Acehnese civil society is made up of the young generation in Aceh, intellectuals, student groups, and all sectors of society in Aceh that have been struggling to create a democratic and just society in Aceh since the collapse of Soeharto regime. They were working before the peace process, they were working during the peace process and they are working even now. There is very limited space for them in Aceh right now, but they are courageously working to create this space.

Acehnese civil society is opposed to violent from any groups. However we believe that conflict can be a positive thing if it does not follow by violence. Violence is negative, but conflict itself can be a source of correction of the present injustice. Conflict can present the opportunity to change the present unjust system and unjust structural relationship. Peace that maintains the status quo, the unjust system, domination, and oppression is a negative peace. Acehnese civil society has been working to create a positive peace. A positive peace is a peace that follows with the change or transformation of the status quo and the society to create a better one.

For Acehnese civil society, the outcome of the conflict is important, but the process to achieve the out come is much more important. Whatever the end, if the process is bad, the outcome will be bad. But whatever the end, if the process is good, it would be good.

The breakdown of the CoHA has shown us that without the involvement of civil society, a peace agreement will not be achieved. The current situation is one of crisis, but it also presents an opportunity to reconstruct the peace process in Aceh.

The international community should support the involvement of civil society in the peace building process in Aceh. The international community should put pressure on the Indonesian government and GAM to go back to the negotiation table. The international community should actively engage with the reform of politics in Indonesia, especially Indonesian military, because until the military weaken nationally, the political settlement of Aceh is difficult to be reached. At the moment, Acehnese civil society is trying to find a creative way of solving the problem. Next month for example SCHRA is planning to hold a meeting in Bangkok to support building Acehnese civil society capacity and finding a creative way that hopefully can contribute to a peaceful solution in solving the conflict in Aceh. I am asking the support from this forum for this initiative.

Thank you,