I'm referring to the article published in The Jakarta Post
on May 9, titled Military operations never achieve results.
I don't know for sure whether this is about military operations
in Aceh or military operations in general in Indonesia. The
military operations conducted in Indonesia are to crush law
violators.
In the same newspaper, human rights campaigner Todung Mulya
Lubis said separatism could not be tolerated in any country in the
world, including Indonesia. Todung Mulya Lubis, what is your
concrete suggestion in annihilating this separatism that cannot be
tolerated?
An Acehnese legislator, Mawardi Abdullah, suggested that the
government stick to the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA),
because it is still valid and military actions violated People's
Consultative Assembly (MPR) decree No. VI/2002, which mandates --
not orders -- the government to maintain talks with the Free Aceh
Movement (GAM) and other elements of Aceh's society. Mawardi
Abdullah did not mention on purpose that the 1945 Constitution is
also still valid, whose value is higher than any law or MPR
decree, let alone the CoHA. Why do we have to maintain the CoHA
but let the 1945 Constitution be violated?
The situation in Aceh is getting more and more serious and GAM
becomes more and more arrogant while it grows stronger every day
in the sense of manpower and weaponry. According to intelligence
reports, GAM has more than 5,000 fighters with about 1,900
weapons.
The present planned operation is called Comprehensive
Operations, because it is not a military operation only but
combined with other activities, such as improving human welfare,
the stabilization of local government and law enforcement. The
military operation will probably be used to protect and ensure
that the other activities will go undisturbed by GAM.
It should be noted that in the past the military had succeeded
in crushing all rebellious movements, such as the Communist
rebellion in 1948, popularly known as the Madiun Affair, the South
Maluku Separatism movement early in the 1950s, Darul
Islam/Indonesian Islamic Military (DI/TII), PRRI/PERMESTA
rebellions and the Communist Sept. 30, 1965 attempted coup.
All of these are evidence that military operations are needed
to stop rebellious movements.
SOEGIH ARTO, Jakarta