Tsunami used to repress Acehnese

The entire tsunami disaster was a preventable catastrophe, if some of the money spent on military invasions by rich nations had been spent on extending the Pacific ocean tsunami warning network to the Indian ocean, the loss of life would have been reduced many-fold.

The entire tsunami disaster was a preventable catastrophe, if some of the money spent on military invasions by rich nations had been spent on extending the Pacific ocean tsunami warning network to the Indian ocean, the loss of life would have been reduced many-fold.

As has been documented before, there is also a long history of repression of the Acehnese by the Indonesian military, the TNI. The Indonesian government (held to ransom by the TNI) are attempting to paint all previous unrest as between the independence movement (the GAM) and the TNI. However it is a more accurate assessment to view the situation as between three actors: the TNI (with over 80,000 non-Acehnese troops in Aceh), the GAM (perhaps 5000 strong, although surprisingly well armed, uniformed and trained), and the wider Acehnese civilian population, which at their most militant, have simply called for a referendum on self-determination (a central tenet of the U.N. charter), matching the East Timorese civilian call.

Now it is becoming increasingly clear that the Indonesian government and specifically the TNI are worried that their history of human rights abuses, disappearances, torture and slaughter will be revealed. This explains the warnings the Indonesian government announced to aid agencies providing tsunami assistance that the TNI cannot guarantee their security. Such warnings should be compared against the repeated statements of the GAM of a unilateral ceasefire. Only now has the Indonesian government made statements agreeing to meet the GAM for ceasefire negotiations.

It is instructive to revisit recent history, such a ceasefire (Kohar: cessation of hostilities) existed in Aceh in 2003, until the conflict was reinstated by the TNI. At every juncture, the TNI have refused to properly negotiate with Acehnese independence representatives, including arresting the representatives as they prepared to leave for Tokyo for negotiations and poisoning them on a flight to the Netherlands. Ceasefires are seen by the TNI as strategies to seek an upper hand, or to dampen outrage against their human rights abuse, not negotiations towards a lasting end to hostilities.

To donate specifically to aid the Acehnese, the best option is to avoid the corrupt Indonesian government and military and donate to grass-roots organisations such as the East Timor Action Network or the WALHI (Friends of the Earth Indonesia) Tsunami Fund administered by the Global Greengrants Fund

Australia’s role in it’s large aid grant to Indonesia then needs to be examined. While the AUD$500m donation is indeed necessary and welcome response to calls from the Australian people, the remaining AUD$500m is in the form of a loan – adding to Indonesia’s existing debt burden. Certainly many aspects of the loan package (Reuters reports AUD$500 million interest-free for up to 40 years, with no repayment of principal for 10 years) is progressive, this establishes a large debt prospect in the future. Yet to be clarified is the degree to which Australian industry will be preferentially treated in reconstruction project tenders.