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NEWS & LETTERS, February-March 2006Condition of Acheh ... one year laterBanda Acheh--"There is no sign of any building or development at all," reports a political exile who recently returned to Acheh a year after the tsunami that killed some 200,000 Achenese and left many more homeless and unemployed, "Thousands of people are still living in tents. They receive food, but have no jobs and receive neither job training nor treatment for the mental illnesses caused by losing family, homes, and for many, their entire villages." TSUNAMI DESTRUCTION UNTOUCHED Our observer, who lost some 100 members of his family in the tsunami, was shocked to see the destruction of the capital city still untouched. "In Banda Acheh, you see many international workers, but no results from their presence. A half kilometer from the center of the capital there are tent-cities for the homeless. The roads to the west are still no good. Indonesia brings in workers from Java, while the Achenese have no jobs." The good news: "The peace accord is holding, and 80% of the people no longer live in fear of the Indonesian military." After 29 years of the guerrilla fight for independence, after most of the last two decades spent under martial law and intense repression that killed tens of thousands of civilians, and after seven years of mass civil society organization and demands for self-determination, an agreement was reached last summer between the Free Acheh Movement’s fighting force, known as GAM, and the Indonesian government. Our observer confirms that some democratic rights guaranteed by the peace agreement have been instituted, such that GAM and civil society groups, whose members used to be killed on sight, can now meet above ground. FUTURE STAGES OF PEACE AGREEMENT The next stages of the peace agreement may prove harder: Acheh is to be permitted expanded self-governance and to form local parties and run candidates for offices in a spring election. Since Indonesia has yet to pass the laws needed to implement these rights, however, no one knows yet whether or how the elections and new government will work. The peace accord came about following the tsunami, which opened up Acheh to foreign scrutiny and caused relief donors to press for peace so they could administer their money. People-to-people relief efforts for survivors continue; contact N&L for more information. --Anne Jaclard |
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