Indonesia's Secret War in Aceh
By John Martinkus
Random House
340 pages, $32.95 (pb)
REVIEW BY JON LAMB
The social and political impact of the tsunami tragedy in Aceh is becoming clearer as the process of aid delivery and reconstruction slowly gathers momentum. Reports from Acehnese and Indonesian human-rights, pro-democracy and aid organisations indicate that the Indonesian military (TNI) is living up to its reputation as a thoroughly corrupt and oppressive apparatus.
The disaster follows decades of intense military repression, during which tens of thousands were killed, disappeared or unjustly imprisoned. The TNI has devoted at least half of its 40,000 troops presently based in Aceh to armed military operations, ostensibly against the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).
The announcement by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in November that the state of civil emergency in Aceh would be extended by six months came as no surprise to many. In November and December the number of TNI attacks increased considerably as it sought to crush the network of GAM guerrilla bases in remote and isolated parts of Aceh.
These new military operations were intended as a return to the situation of all-out war initiated in 2003, sealing Aceh off from the outside world — all foreign journalists, aid organisations and observers of any kind were banned.
John Martinkus's latest book, Indonesia's Secret War in Aceh, traces the immediate events that led to this military siege and the Acehnese people's resistance to it. Martinkus has an easy-to-read style, relaying his personal experiences of travelling throughout Aceh to present an intimate portrayal of the daily plight faced by the Acehnese people.
The current restrictions on foreign aid workers and journalists travelling in Aceh are part of a deliberate attempt by the TNI to prevent outsiders from witnessing what the Acehnese people are being forced to endure.
Martinkus describes what happens to those who seek to investigate and reveal the truth about what is happening in Aceh, such as the brave local human-rights lawyers and solidarity activists, regularly detained, tortured or assassinated by the TNI. He also documents what has happened to foreigners attempting to do similar work, like the independent journalist and activist Billy Nessen and nurse Joy Lee Sadler (both from the United States) or Australian-based academic Lesley McCulloch.
Indonesia's Secret War in Aceh also provides a concise background to the history of the struggle for independence, as well as documenting the transformation of the pro-independence movement in the last decade, particularly in the period since the fall of Suharto. A broader movement has grown beyond the armed struggle (and beyond the call for the creation of an Islamic state). A central demand of the movement is for a referendum on Aceh's status.
Martinkus criticises the foreign policies of the US, Australia and other Western powers towards Aceh and their steps towards closer military ties with Indonesia. The TNI terror machine continues to conduct gross human-rights abuses throughout Indonesia, coordinated by many of the same TNI officers who attempted to completely destroy East Timor after its 1999 independence referendum.
In West Papua, human-rights groups are preparing for the next round of attacks on pro-independence activists by militia gangs trained and armed by TNI units such as the infamous Kopassus regiment. Two men currently in detention face the death penalty merely for raising the Morning Star independence flag on December 1 in Jayapura.
Indonesia's Secret War in Aceh is a compelling read and a useful source for understanding what is happening in Aceh today and the role of the TNI in Indonesian politics.
From Green Left Weekly, February 2, 2005.
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