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by
Leah C. Wells
May
29, 2003
Did
anyone notice the uncanny similarities between the recent U.S.-led war in Iraq
and Indonesia in its crackdown of Aceh?
Last
week, the peace agreement between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and Indonesian
government collapsed and Indonesia's President Megawati Sukarnoputri imposed a
state of martial law in the remote province, ordering tens of thousands of
troops to militarily crush the guerrilla force.
Indonesia's
foreign minister Hassan Wirayuda, seems to see the connection between Aceh and
Iraq, quoted by the BBC as saying "Honestly, what we are doing or will do
in Aceh is much less than the American power that was deployed in Iraq."
A
spokesman for Mr. Wirayuda said that "Iraq may cause some pause in
criticism against us among governments who readily used force."
The
United States seems not to be making the connection between its actions and the
military prerogatives of other countries. U.S. State Department spokesperson
Richard Boucher indicated that both sides of the conflict in Indonesia had not
explored every peaceful alternative at the Tokyo negotiations, seemingly
oblivious to the U.S. policy of "do as I say, not as I do."
Prior
to the war in Iraq, the international community overwhelmingly supported
dialogue and international weapons inspectors through the United Nations to
root out any weapons of mass destruction that Iraq might have been hiding. The
United States preferred military action to negotiations, and against the better
judgment of the United Nations and most allies, proceeded with the invasion.
In
Aceh, too, negotiations and dialogue had been underway through the Henry Dunant
Center (HDC) which had brokered a peace deal that included a monitoring agency
comprised of representatives from the Indonesian government, the Free Aceh
Movement and the HDC. The United States and Japan had provided ample financial
backing to the monitoring agency, called the Joint Security Committee, and have
been invested in finding a non-military solution to the problem in Aceh.
Indonesia
has complete support from every country in the world for its sovereignty over
Aceh. No secession is seriously at hand and the world was actively engaged in
disarming the rebels and negotiating a solution. The
Indonesian
government and military, following in the footsteps of the United States,
steamrolled through international pleading, trashed the peace talks and
launched a military crack down of Aceh.
Besides
arresting the negotiators, the military campaign started with a dramatic photo
opportunity as the Indonesian military parachuted hundreds of soldiers into the
Banda Aceh airport, a location they already controlled. Why didn't they just
disembark out of a landed plane. This stunt rivals the grandiose rescue of
Jessica Lynch in Iraq.
However,
staged photo-ops are only one way to manipulate a "free media". Fifty
Indonesian journalists have been embedded in the Indonesian military (TNI), a
cadre of individuals whose newspapers largely support the Indonesian military
action in Aceh. It appears that in Aceh, as in Iraq, mainstream media has
surrendered its perspective and impartiality by becoming the public relations
arm of bloodthirsty governments.
Like
the USA, Indonesia also uses the label of terrorism to validate its war on
Aceh. A senior advisor of President Sukarnoputri said that separatist
movements, like the GAM, could now be considered terrorist groups. I wonder how
she would label the United States revolutionary patriots?
A
major component of the U.S.-led war on Iraq was control of Iraq's oil.
The
war in Aceh also has similar subtexts. The gas-rich area of northwestern
Sumatra houses a huge Exxon-Mobil gas field which is at the heart of the
controversy. Acehnese universally claim that revenues from natural resources
found in Aceh are distributed unequally to the benefit of the Indonesian
government.
To
complicate matters, the Exxon-Mobil plant is guarded by the Indonesian military
which, according to human rights groups, receives upwards of $100,000 per month
for security services from the corporation. In a dual role, the TNI forces is
massacring civilians while protecting the interests of multi-national
enterprise.
The
TNI is using U.S.-made military equipment in Aceh that it acquired prior to the
U.S. Congressional ban on military sales, according to Human Rights Watch.
While currently not supplying the Indonesian military with weapons, last year
the House and Senate Appropriations Committees voted to restart the
International Military Education and Training for Indonesia akin to the
training that Latin American soldiers receive at the School of the Americas at
Ft. Benning, GA.
The
Indonesian troops have drawn lessons from the US military doctrine of
"overwhelming force" General Endriartono Sutarto told his troops to
fight the rebels "until your last drop of blood," telling them that
"you are trained to kill, so wipe them out."
What
concerns many humanitarian groups in Aceh and the international community is
that civilians, and human rights workers, are already being killed in this
renewed war. An estimated 10,000 innocent people have been killed in the
26-year-old fight for independence, and according to recent UNICEF figures,
23,000 children have been displaced. Plans for massive civilian relocation
camps trouble many people concerned with human rights violations in the region.
With
disturbing parallels from the U.S.-led invasion Iraq, the Indonesian invasion
last week could signal a dangerous trend in international affairs. Has
diplomacy become a disingenuous euphemism for placating other countries' hopes
for peaceful resolution of disputes and flouting the rule of international law
until the military is good and ready to attack?
How
many other countries will resort to force rather than dialogue?
Leah C. Wells worked in Aceh
in 2002 on a peace curriculum called Program Pendidikan Damai, and has visited
Iraq three times since 2001. She may be contacted at education@napf.org.