Indonesia: Violence overshadows elections in troubled Aceh province

Armed police officers stand guard as election officials carry ballot boxes to be distributed to polling stations at a local government office in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Tuesday. Pic: AP

By Asian Correspondent Apr 10, 2014 By Robert Yates On Tuesday last week, unidentified un!en opened fire on a car decked out with political banners in Indonesia"s northern!ost province, Aceh# Three people were killed, includin a child of $% !onths# Across !ost of the country, the run&up to yesterday"s le islative elections heralded little !ore than a bewilderin array of ca!pai n posters and portrait shots of various candidates bein pasted on every available surface# 'owever, Aceh found itself pla ued by a spate of violent incidents co!!only held to be politically !otivated, stretchin back over several !onths# The April $ !urders ca!e less than a fortni ht after clashes between opposin party ca!pai ners left one hospitalised and two critically in(ured# In the sa!e week, a local councillor had his car and house destroyed in what was dee!ed a retaliatory attack# On )arch *, a le islative candidate fro! the Aceh +ational ,arty -,+A. was shot dead and, on /ebruary 0, the ,+A"s head of the 1uta )ak!ur sub&district was beaten to death by two assailants# By )arch *2, the Aceh 3e!ocratic /oru! had already recorded 40 local cases of supposed political violence since the be innin of the ca!pai n period, with spokes!an A usta )ukhtar tellin a press conference: 5The violence has doubled since the be innin of )arch"# These incidents included shootin s, assaults, vandalis! and destruction of property, and even renade attacks#

Aceh is sadly fa!iliar with conflict and loss of life# In *662, the 5Bo7in 3ay tsuna!i" destroyed the re ion"s north coast and deci!ated the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, clai!in over $86,666 lives and renderin a further 866,666 ho!eless# Before this, a three&decade&lon stru le between the separatist /ree Aceh )ove!ent -9A). and the Indonesian national overn!ent saw !ore than *8,666 killed, with both sides accusin the other of kidnappin s, torture and civilian !urder# In the sobriety that followed the *662 earth:uake, and lar ely due to the re ion bein forced to open its doors to overn!ental and international aid, fi htin between 9A) separatists and the national !ilitary abated, and in *668, in 'elsinki, an )o; was si ned officially endin the civil conflict that had been burnin consistently since the $<=6s# ;nder the a ree!ent, overn!ent troops were withdrawn in e7chan e for 9A)"s disar!a!ent, the re ion was ranted reater political autono!y, and local parties were per!itted to run a ainst national parties at the provincial, re ency and !unicipal levels, a privile e not afforded to Indonesia"s other 44 provinces# Yet, despite the 'elsinki a ree!ent, Aceh has re!ained a politically turbulent re ion# The !ain party to sprin fro! the 9A) !ove!ent, the Aceh ,arty -,A., suffered a fracture in *6$* when for!er overnor Irwandi Yusuf for!ed a new +ational Aceh ,arty -,+A., a !ove that led to a strin of shootin s alle edly involvin for!er 9A) co!batants divided in their alle iance# It is between these two sides, ori inatin fro! the sa!e separatist nest, that subse:uent violence has e!er ed# In )edan, a city (ust south of the Acehnese border, I talked with an e7&9A) co!batant who fou ht a ainst national soldiers between *66* and *668# Althou h physically separated fro! the recent political unrest in his ho!eland, >+, as he prefers to be na!ed, is an open supporter of the ,A and voices an er at the schis! caused by the ,+A"s *6$* defection# ?ike !any e7&9A) !e!bers, he still drea!s of a fully independent Acehnese nation, a drea! that he sees (eopardised when the re ion is internally divided# @e !ust have one roup in Aceh,A he says, speakin a week before the election# 'e hints at the prospect of an autocratic ban on opposin parties, a step that can appear favourable to those still strivin for Acehnese independence# BIf the ,A win, !aybe the ,+A can"t speak any!ore#A Co!e believe the !ulti&party syste! da!a es Aceh"s chances of 5liberation"# /urther!ore, !any ,A supporters see their political opponents as havin close ties with the national overn!ent# >+ even posits the idea that the overn!ent paid Yusuf to spearhead the for!ation of the ,+A, causin a schis! that ha!pered the still active separatist cause# B>akarta claps its hands when they see conflict in Aceh,A he adds#

In line with >+"s suspicions of the Indonesian overn!ent secretly revellin in the province"s internal instability, there is the accusation fro! so!e that the national police could be doin !ore in response to the recent political unrest# On )arch *4, police char ed *$ !e!bers of the ,A in relation to a strin of violent attacks, after havin initially arrested 86# 'owever, despite such le al interventions and a reater nu!ber of police personnel bein deployed to the province, Dulfikar )uha!!ad, e7ecutive director of the Aceh 'u!an Ri hts +on overn!ental Or aniEation Foalition, voiced concerns that could be shared by separatists and non&separatists alike# @e feel our local police perfor!ance has been weak, especially in reducin un violence# Our people continue to face acts of brutality ahead of the elections, despite the additional troops deployed in Aceh# @e challen e the +ational ,olice to solve the GApril $H shootin before the April < le islative elections# If they fail to do so, then they have failed to provide the citiEens of Aceh with a sense of security durin a crucial ti!e#A The 'elsinki a ree!ent has held, in principle, since *668# Yet, the yearnin for an Acehnese nation has not died out# /or !any, includin >+, the benefits of such an autono!ous state would be a solidifyin of Aceh"s already notoriously strict Isla!ic law, a restriction on i!!i ration and perhaps even an e7pulsion of ethnic and reli ious !inorities I he na!es Fhristians, 'indus, Buddhists and ethnic >avanese as roups that are not welco!e in his ho!eland# The continuin presence of such protectionist and nationalist Eeal in a youn Acehnese eneration I >+ is only 40 I and the recent political violence between those who once fou ht for the sa!e separatist cause paint a picture of a re ion far fro! stable, a re ion where de!ocracy functions alon side inti!idation, where le islative but reluctant links with the wider Indonesian nation, a nation of hu e ethnic diversity, are ha!pered by reli ious intolerance and occasionally uninhibited 7enophobia# Jven if one party were to do!inate in these elections, the future of Aceh envisa ed by youn !en such as >+ !ay not be unified or peaceful# I ask hi! whether he thinks 9A) could re&for! to fi ht for independence a ain and he says yes# I ask hi! whether he would be willin to (oin the fi ht a second ti!e and he says yes, barely hesitatin # Our translator, *2, also Acehnese, turns and says: B)e too#A Rob Yates is an +9O worker based in )edan, Indonesia# 'e is a part&ti!e editorial assistant for ?atitudes#nu and has previously contributed to !usic review site !usico!h#co! as well as various university publications in the ;1#