Aceh: former arch-enemies learn to get along

Unemployment and disunity among former rebels cause for concern

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By Sami Sillanpää
     
     During nearly 30 years of armed conflict, the jungle house of the governor of Aceh became a rather superfluous building. Power was not with the governor - it was with those who carried guns.
     And when the tsunami of 2004 ravaged this poor province in the far north of Indonesia, the empty house of the governor became a base for journalists and aid organisations. It is from there that Aceh called for help.
     How the villa-type governor's house in the capital Banda Aceh is finally being used for what it was originally intended. Aceh's new beginning is typified by the fact that the resident of the building is a former rebel guerrilla.
     "I was busy in my former life, but now I'm really busy", says Governor Irwandi Yusuf in an interview with Helsingin Sanomat.
     
Yusuf spent years in prison for fighting against Indonesian rule. In late December 2004 the tsunami broke the walls of the prison, and Yusuf escaped.
      The following autumn, the Helsinki peace treaty between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement granted an amnesty to the rebels. A year ago Yusuf was chosen governor of Aceh in historic elections. "The year has been busy. I have been rebuilding the administration, fighting corruption, and tried to establish new rules."
     There is a new look on the streets of Banda Aceh. Motorcycles and land rovers crowd the streets which are lined with palm trees. In restaurants and in open markets there is activity late into the evening.
     "During the conflict the whole city went silent as soon as night fell. We did not dare move around. I remember well what that fear felt like", says merchant Ampuntam, 40, who sells t-shirts next to the magnificent Baiturrahman Mosque.
     
In August 2005 tears flowed in the mosque. The peace treaty had just been signed in Helsinki, and men prayed that the peace would hold. During the conflict, civilians suffered for years from blackmail, kindappings, rapes, and worse.
     In the treaty, the Free Aceh Movement gave up seeking independence, and agreed to the status of a self-governing area as part of Indonesia. After two and a half years of peace, faith that the conflict is really over has finally taken root.
      "The situation is very good. There are many small problems, such as theft and extortion, but they are normal crime, and are not linked with the former conflict", says Bambang Dharmono, a general in the Indonesian Army.
     Dharmono served for years as the commander of the armed forces in Aceh, chasing down the guerrillas. During the peace process, he even visited Finland.
     The scars left by the actions of the Indonesian Army and the rebels are still fresh, and no guided process of forgiveness has begun. However, the leaders have shown the example.
     Dharmono's arch enemy was the present governor, the former guerrilla leader Yusuf.
     "We have become good friends", Dharmono says, showing a text message in which Yusuf calls him "boss".
     "I no longer think of him as the enemy. There is no more enemy", Dharmono says.
     
The return of the rebels from the bush into normal life has been difficult. Farming, commerce, and construction work have provided work only for part of the 3,000 named fighters, and in practice, there were more guerrillas than that. Most of them are unemployed.
     The economic anguish is made worse by the fact that the fund promised by the Indonesian government to re-integrate the guerrillas into normal everyday life has not been established yet.
     Dissatisfaction among the former guerrillas has manifested itself in unfortunate ways in the city of Lhokesumawe. Badrun, a former fighter who has been left without monetary help, has denounced the leaders of the Free Aceh Movement, condemned the peace treaty, and set up his own guerrilla group to continue the war, say observers of the international Interpeace organisation in the area.
     Badrun has only about 50 fighters, but the group has already committed acts of violence.
     
The Free Aceh Movement is split in other ways as well. The main conflict is between the old leadership, which lives in Stockholm, and the younger guard in Aceh. Governor Yusuf and Malik Mahmoud, the prime minister of the government in exile, and signer of the peace treaty, are reportedly not on speaking terms any more.
     Work has begun in Aceh on the establishment of local parties for the national elections in 2009. The rebels appear to be dispersing into many different groups.
     "Many local parties are rising. It is good for democracy", says Governor Yusuf, downplaying the disagreements.
     Yusuf feels the weight of the pressure from the people. In December, during the Muslim pilgrimage festival hundreds of poor people stood outside the governor's mansion asking for help.
     "Now it is crucial to develop the economy and create jobs."
     
To revive the economy, Yusuf is looking to where he and the other guerrillas used to hide - the jungle.
     During the conflict, the dense tropical forests of Aceh were known as areas where fear, cannabis cultivation, and illegal felling prevailed. Yusuf's new plan is to establish plantations for palm oil.
     The governor feels that producing the controversial biological fuel could create tens of thousands of jobs for Aceh.
     "We want to turn from cutting down trees to planting them."
     
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 12.1.2008

More on this subject:
 Finns still lurk in background of peace process

Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finns stay on as Aceh peace process continues (12.12.2006)
  Indonesian leader praises Finns for contribution to Aceh peace process (13.9.2006)
  Thousands in Aceh celebrate as peace treaty is signed in Helsinki (16.8.2005)

SAMI SILLANPÄÄ / Helsingin Sanomat
sami.sillanpaa@hs.fi