One of Asia's longest-running conflicts appears one step closer to being resolved. The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) said this week that it is willing to sign a peace plan with the Indonesian government in December, after the holy month of Ramadan. This announcement comes after Indonesia expressed its desire to sign a truce by October 31. GAM leaders, currently in exile in Sweden, were unable to sign a truce before Ramadan due to some demands that remain unresolved.
In what appears to be a gesture of good will GAM has pledged to cease all military operations for the month of Ramadan, except for the purpose of “self-defense”. But GAM negotiators report that Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri has threatened that firm action would be taken if a truce were not signed by the start of Ramadan. The most recent violence between Acehnese separatists and the Indonesian military occurred on October 25, when the Indonesian military stormed a village and ignited a 25-minute gun battle in which six suspected Acehnese separatists were killed. This action took place just days after the Indonesian government said that it had prepared a new peace proposal.
The recent clash between the GAM and the Indonesian military has been typical of the past 25 years of the conflict. In the past decade alone it is estimated that 12,000 - mostly indigenous Aceh people, and many of them civilians - have been killed in the struggle. The conflict stems from an agreement between the province of Aceh and the Indonesian government granting some measure of autonomy to Aceh after Indonesia gained independence from colonial Dutch rule. Due to the prominent role played by Aceh during the struggle for independence, Indonesia granted it 'Special Region' status.
Aceh is located on the mineral-rich northern tip of the island of Sumatra, and produces large revenues from exploitation of natural resources. The Indonesian government and foreign corporations take in most of the profits of mining and other activities, with very little trickling down to the Acehnese. Economic inequities have inflamed the desire for self-determination, compelling many citizens of Aceh to join in the struggle for independence of the region.
In recent months the Indonesian government and ExxonMobil, the world's biggest oil company, have been deflecting troubling allegations of human rights abuses on the part of their personnel by branding the Acehnese “terrorists”. This is a blatant attempt to capitalize on the international climate accompanying the U.S.-led “war on terror”, as the Acehnese have long been widely known as independence fighters. Indonesia's rhetoric has been regarded by critics as an attempt to suppress the issue of Aceh independence and control of resources.
The issue of control over natural resources in a more autonomous Aceh has been a stumbling block in the past. If December's peace plan is similar to Indonesia's past offers, Indonesia would most likely hold on to the province's oil and natural gas reserves but give the Acehnese a fairer share of the profits. Since a dialogue began in 2000, GAM has rejected all offers that do not grant the region full independence from Indonesia.
GAM has insisted that independent international monitors mediate any cease-fire between the two groups; until recently the Indonesian government has opposed such a measure. GAM would also like to see agreement on a plan that would establish a democratically elected local government by 2004. GAM officials have stated that their aspiration is democracy, but their primary goal is independence for the Acehnese.
