Aceh: Now for the Hard Part

Jakarta/Brussels  |   29 Mar 2006

Converging problems in Aceh call for renewed leadership from Jakarta and for international donor vigilance to prevent any backsliding on the peace process.

Aceh: Now for the Hard Part,* the latest briefing from the International Crisis Group, examines what needs to be done to help solidify the August 2005 accord between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, GAM).

“The peace process remains very much on track, but everyone concerned about Aceh should realise that the really hard part is just beginning”, says Sidney Jones, Crisis Group’s South East Asia Project Director.

Confidence in the peace remains high in Aceh but some major problems are surfacing at the same time: how to reconcile differences between Aceh and Jakarta over the local government authority; questions over who can run in local elections and when those elections take place; and the urgent employment needs of returning GAM members.

The most contentious issue is the draft law on governing Aceh that was supposed to incorporate the provisions of the MoU and replace a 2001 “special autonomy” law with enhanced self-government. The home affairs ministry weakened a draft produced through wide public consultation in Aceh and submitted the diluted version to the Indonesian parliament. Intensive efforts are underway to restore key provisions of the original, and the outcome may determine whether post-conflict relations between Aceh and the central government begin in an atmosphere of trust or mutual recrimination.

The return of ex-combatants has gone smoothly thus far, but reintegration issues will continue to cause tensions. This is in part because far more ex-GAM members are expecting assistance than was previously thought but also because a program set up to address reintegration needs may leave former enemies awash in cash just before local elections take place.

Finally, those elections, in which GAM’s participation is still uncertain, are now likely to be delayed until late July or August or even later, meaning the European Union-led Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM), scheduled to depart in June, will not be on the ground at the time when the risk of violence and the need for a neutral arbiter are highest.

“All of these problems are manageable, but their coming together at once means that it will take focus and flexibility both from Jakarta and the donor community to keep up the momentum for peace”, says Robert Templer, Director of Crisis Group’s Asia Program.a