Chapter 8 - Secessionist Challenge in Aceh: Problems and Prospects

Summary

Introduction

Since Indonesia's independence in August 1945, the province of Aceh in northern Sumatra has often been described as a centre of resistance against the central government in Jakarta. Led by an influential ulama (religious leader), Tengku Muhammad Daud Beureueh, Aceh officially launched a rebellion against the central government in 1953. This movement, known as Darul Islam (DI), aimed to create a Negara Islam Indonesia (NII, Islamic State of Indonesia) as part of a wide movement in Indonesia, notably in West Java and South Sulawesi. This clearly demonstrates that Aceh's DI rebellion was never meant to seek a separate independent state outside of Indonesia. Its original goal was only to impose dramatic changes in the nature of the state within the existing state structure, namely the Islamization of the Indonesian state. When the rebellion was finally brought to an end in 1962, it had failed to achieve that goal.

As a result of negotiation between the central government and Aceh rebel forces, the province was, however, given a daerah istimewa (special region) status and promised a broad autonomy in the fields of religion, adat (customary law), and education. It was expected at the time that the compromise would eliminate sources of discontentment within the Acehnese society against the central government in Jakarta. However, this promise was never fulfilled by the central government. Consequently, a subsequent rebellion against Jakarta, which took the form of a secessionist movement, led by Gerakan Aceh Merdeka (GAM, Free Aceh Movement), resurfaced in 1976. Since then, Aceh has continued to pose a serious challenge to the territorial integrity of Indonesia during the New Order period and beyond.

Indeed, the protracted conflict in Aceh, which has escalated since the downfall of President Soeharto's New Order government in May 1998, constitutes one of the bloodiest conflicts in contemporary Southeast Asia. Various attempts by the main parties to the conflict — the Indonesian Government and GAM — to seek a peaceful solution through negotiation have not made significant progress. Several agreements to reduce the violent confrontations between the government of Indonesia and GAM failed to achieve results.