The insurgency in Aceh, officially designated the Rebellion in Aceh (Indonesian: Pemberontakan di Aceh) by the Indonesian government, was a conflict fought by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) between 1976 and 2005, with the goal of making the province of Aceh independent from Indonesia. The aftermath of a military offensive in 2003 and the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami brought a peace agreement and an eventual end to the insurgency.
Background
There is a cultural and religious difference between Aceh and the rest of Indonesia. A more conservative form of Islam is practised in Aceh than the rest of Indonesia. The broadly secular policies of Suharto's New Order regime (1965–1998) were especially unpopular in Aceh where many resented the central government's policy of promoting a unified 'Indonesian culture'. Further, given the location of the province at the northern end of Indonesia, there is a widespread feeling in the province that leaders in distant Jakarta do not understand Aceh's problems and have little or no sympathy for local needs and customs in Aceh.
Timeline
First phase
The centralist tendencies of the government of Suharto, along with other grievances, led Hasan Tiro to form the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) on 4 December 1976 and declare Acehnese independence. The main perceived threats were to Acehnese religion and culture from the "neo-colonial" government and the rising numbers of Javanese migrants into Aceh. The perceived unfair distribution of income from Aceh's substantial natural resources was another point of contention. GAM's first operation in 1977 was carried out against Mobil Oil Indonesia which was the shareholder of PT Arun, the company which operated the Arun gas field.
At this stage, the numbers mobilised by GAM were extremely limited. While there had been considerable Acehnese disaffection and possibly sympathy for GAM's cause, this did not translate into mass active participation. By di Tiro's own account, only 70 men joined him and they came mostly from the regency of Pidie and especially from di Tiro's own village—with some of them joining due to personal loyalties to the di Tiro family while others due to disillusionment with the central government. Many of GAM's leaders were young and highly educated professionals who were members of the upper and middle classes of Acehnese society.
GAM's first cabinet, set up by di Tiro during his time in Aceh between 1976 and 1979, composed of the following Darul Islam rebellion:
- Hasan Tiro: Wali Negara, Defence Minister, and supreme commander
- Muchtar Hasbi: vice-president; Minister of Internal Affairs
- Muhamad Usman Lampoih Awe: Minister of Finance
- Ilyas Leube: Minister of Justice
- Husaini M. Hasan: Minister of Education and Information
- Zaini Abdullah: Minister of Health
- Zubir Mahmud: Minister of Social Affairs
- Asnawi Ali: Minister of Public Works and Industry
- Amir Ishak: Minister of Communications
- Amir Rashid Mahmud: Minister of Trade
- Malik Mahmud: Minister of State
The mid-level and rank-and-file had fought in the 1953–1959 Darul Islam rebellion. Many of them were older men who remained loyal to former Aceh military governor and leader of the Darul Islam rebellion in Aceh Daud Beureueh. The most prominent person of this group was Teungku Ilyas Leube, a well-known cleric who had been a leader of the Darul Islam rebellion. Some of the Darul Islam men were possibility linked to di Tiro through family or regional ties but they owed their loyalty primarily to Beureueh. These men provided the military know-how, local knowledge and logistical skills which the young educated leaders lacked.
By the end of 1979, Indonesian suppression actions had all but crushed GAM—its leaders were either in exile, imprisoned, or killed; its followers were dispersed and pushed underground. Leaders such as di Tiro, Zaini Abdullah (GAM minister of health), Malik Mahmud (GAM minister of state), and Husaini M. Hasan (GAM minister of education) had fled overseas and the original GAM cabinet ceased to function.
Second phase
In 1985, di Tiro secured Libyan support for GAM—taking advantage of Muammar Gaddafi's policy of supporting nationalist rebellions through his so-called Mathaba Against Imperialism, Racism, Zionism and Fascism. It was not clear if Libya had subsequently funded GAM but what it definitely provided was a sanctuary in which GAM recruits could receive much-needed military training. Accounts differ on the number of fighters trained by Libya during the period of 1986 to 1989 or 1990. GAM recruiters claimed that there were around 1,000 to 2,000 while press reports drawing from Indonesian military's report claimed that they numbered 600 to 800. Among the GAM leaders who joined during this phase were Sofyan Dawood (who would become GAM commander Pasè, North Aceh) and Ishak Daud (who became the spokesman for GAM Peureulak, East Aceh).
Incidents in the second phase began in 1989 after the return of the trainees from Libya. Operations by GAM included raiding for weapons, attacks against police and military posts, arsons and targeted assassinations of police and military personnel, government informants and other individuals.
Although it failed to gain widespread support, the group's actions led the Indonesian government to institute repressive measures. The period between 1989 and 1998 became known as the "Military Operation Area" or Daerah Operasi Militer (DOM) era as the Indonesian military stepped up its counter-insurgency measures. This measure, although tactically successful in destroying GAM as a guerilla force, alienated the local Acehnese which helped GAM re-establish itself when Indonesian military was almost totally withdrawn from Aceh by the order of president Habibie in late-1998. Important GAM commanders were either killed (Pasè district commander Yusuf Ali and senior GAM commander Keuchik Umar), captured (Ligadinsyah Ibrahim) or fled (Robert, Arjuna and Daud Kandang).
Third phase
In 1999, chaos in Java and an ineffective central government due to the fall of Suharto gave an advantage to Free Aceh Movement and resulted in the second phase of the rebellion, this time with large support from the Acehnese people. In 1999 a troop withdrawal was announced, but the deteriorating security situation led to re-introduction of more soldiers. Troop numbers were believed to have risen during President Megawati Sukarnoputri's term in office (2001–2004) to around 15,000 by mid-2002. GAM was able to control 70 percent of the countryside in all of Aceh.
The year 1999 also saw the start of the first ever dialogue process between the Indonesian Government and GAM. This process was initiated by the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD) a private diplomacy organization that facilitated peace talks between the two sides until 2003.
During this phase, there were two periods of brief cessation of hostilities brokered by HD: the "Humanitarian Pause" in 2000 and the "Cessation of Hostilities Agreement" (COHA). The COHA was signed in December 2002. The implementation of both the Humanitarian Pause and the COHA resulted in a reduction of armed clashes and violence in Aceh. The COHA ended in May 2003 when the Indonesian government declared a "military emergency" in Aceh and announced that it wanted to destroy GAM once and for all.
In a break from its emphasis on military means of attaining independence, GAM shifted its position to one supporting the holding of a referendum. During 8 November 1999 pro-referendum demonstrations in Banda Aceh, GAM gave support by providing transport to protesters from rural areas to the provincial capital. On 21 July 2002, GAM also issued the Stavanger Declaration following a meeting of the Worldwide Acehnese Representatives Meeting in Stavanger, Norway. In the declaration, it declared that the "State of Aceh practices the system of democracy." Aspinall saw that these democratic and human rights impulses within GAM as an effect of the efforts of urban-based Acehnese group which were promoting such values in the freer and more open environment following the fall of Suharto from power.
Security crackdowns in 2001 and 2002 resulted in several thousand civilian deaths. Throughout the conflict an estimated 15,000 people have been killed. The government launched an offensive and a state of emergency was proclaimed in the Province. During this period, the GAM was severely disabled with its commander Teungku Lah killed in a government ambush in January 2002, while various regional commanders such as Tengku Jamaica and Ishak Daud were also killed. By GAM's own admission, it lost 50% of its strength during the government offensive of 2003–2005. The insurgency was still going on when the tsunami disaster of 2004 struck the province. In November 2003 the martial law was extended for a further six months. According to a Human Rights Watch report, the Indonesian military committed widespread human rights abuses during the invasion and occupation, with more than 100,000 people being displaced in the first seven months of martial law and extrajudicial killings being common.
The peace agreement and first local elections
After the devastating tsunami in December 2004, GAM declared a unilateral cease-fire, with members of the international community reiterating the need to resolve the conflict. Of the numerous accounts of the negotiation process, one from the Indonesian side is in the book by the Indonesian key negotiator, Hamid Awaludin. A differing account was written by GAM adviser, Damien Kingsbury: 'Peace in Aceh: A Personal Account of the Aceh Peace Process Despite GAM's unilateral ceasefire, the TNI continued its assault on GAM personnel and positions. Because of the separatist movement in the area, the Indonesian government had access restrictions in place on the press and aid workers. After the tsunami, however, the Indonesian government opened the region up to international relief efforts.
The tsunami drew international attention to the conflict. Earlier peace efforts had failed, but for a number of reasons, including the tsunami, the inability of either side to militarily win the conflict and, notably, a desire by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to secure peace in Indonesia, a peace agreement was reached in 2005 after 29 years of war. Post-Suharto Indonesia and the liberal-democratic reform period, as well as changes in the Indonesian military, helped create an environment more favourable to peace talks. The roles of newly elected President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice-President Jusuf Kalla were highly significant. At the same time, the GAM leadership was reconsidering options available to it, and the Indonesian military had put the rebel movement under significant pressure that encouraged GAM to accept an outcome short of full independence. The peace talks were facilitated by the Crisis Management Initiative and led by former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari. The resulting peace agreement was signed on 15 August 2005 in Helsinki. Under the agreement, Aceh would receive special autonomy under the Republic of Indonesia, and non-organic (i.e. non-Aceh native) government troops would be withdrawn from the province (leaving only 25,000 soldiers) in exchange for GAM's disarmament. As part of the agreement, the European Union dispatched 300 monitors. Their mission expired on 15 December 2006, following local elections.
Aceh has been granted broader autonomy through Aceh Government Legislation covering special rights agreed upon in 2002 as well as the right of the Acehnese to establish local political parties to represent their interests. However, Human rights advocates highlighted that previous human rights violations in the province would need to be addressed.
During elections for the provincial governor held in December 2006, the former GAM and national parties participated. The election was won by Irwandi Yusuf, whose base of support consists largely of ex-GAM members.
Possible causes of conflict
Historical
The area first fell to Dutch authority as a result of the Dutch expedition on the west coast of Sumatra of 1831. However, not everything fell into Dutch hands, where resistance was still being carried out. Aceh Sultanate as a whole was only defeated in 1903, becoming one of the last areas conquered by the Dutch in the Malay Archipelago.