THE ACEH QUESTION

November 12, 1999
		Calls for independence in another Indonesian province are providing the country's newly-elected president with his first major crisis. -- Posted 5:15 PM ET

Online NewsHour Special Report: Indonesia Oct. 21, 1999: A profile of Megawati Sukarnoputri Oct. 20, 1999: A discussion on the Indonesian elections. Oct. 20, 1999: Wahid selected as Indonesia's president July 8, 1999: A discussion on Indonesia's election process. June 2, 1998: Indonesia attempts to form a democratic government. May 22, 1998: A discussion on changes in the Indonesian government. Browse the NewsHour's coverage of Asia.     Aceh Global Network Indonesian Department of Foreign Affairs

The latest unrest comes from the province of Aceh, an oil-rich region at the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. In a rally Monday in the regional capital Banda Aceh, over half a million protesters demanded the right to secede from Indonesia. Although the independence movement has been simmering in Aceh for over a decade, the Aug. 30 referendum in East Timor that set that region on a path of separation from Jakarta has stirred emotions, according to observers. Monday's independence protest was the largest of its kind in Indonesia's history. Allegations that the Indonesian military murdered, kidnapped, tortured and raped many in Aceh's separatists have circulated widely, and have added to the public outcry against Jakarta. According to human rights groups nearly 2,800 civilians have died and almost 3,900 have disappeared in the past decade in connection with the push for independence. Similar to the strife between the military and former president B.J. Habibie over East Timor, the Aceh question is causing a rift between new president Abdurrahman Wahid and his military advisors. Wahid has said publicly that he would support a referendum in Aceh, an idea which the military and Indonesia's legislators strongly oppose. "The key for the Aceh solution is the commitment of all Indonesians, including the people of Aceh, to remain within the unity of the Republic of Indonesia," General Wiranto, the former head of Indonesia's military, told the South China Morning Post. Wahid, speaking to reporters before heading to the United States, said he thought the Acehnese would choose to remain a part of Indonesia. "If we can hold a referendum in East Timor, why not in Aceh. The consequences of a referendum, whatever the outcome, we will accept," he said. "If I am not wrong, if I know the Acehnese people well, they won't separate from Indonesia." Despite Wahid's assurances, members of Indonesia's legislature say a referendum would lead to Acehnese independence. Combined with the secession of East Timor, many worry about the ability for Indonesia to survive. Amien Rais, the speaker of Indonesia's highest legislative body, told Reuters that "without doubt" independence for Aceh would cause the country to split apart. "If Aceh were to break away from Indonesia, it will be the biggest disaster for the republic of Indonesia," he said. Rais said he supports an independence referendum for Aceh, but thinks the government should wait until the country is stable enough to carry the vote out properly. "[The referendum's] timing should not be now but in a time to come, and the preparations for it should be done better," he said. Unlike East Timor, which Indonesia annexed in 1976, Aceh has been a part of Indonesia since its days as a Dutch colony. The region has been well known for its resistance to colonial and Indonesian rule. Aceh was at the center of one of Dutch Indonesia's longest and bloodiest wars, the Aceh War, which raged from 1873 to 1903 between the Acehnese and colonial authorities. After Indonesia's independence from the Netherlands, Aceh once again agitated for independence. Jakarta granted the province "special region" status in 1959, allowing higher than usual respect for local Islamic customs. In the past decade, small rebellions, quickly put down by Indonesian authorities, took up the fight for political and financial independence. Aceh provides a third of Indonesia's liquefied gas exports and contributes significantly to Indonesian exports of gold, silver, rubber and timber. Wahid said he was prepared to offer Aceh a greater autonomy within Indonesia, as well as 75 percent of the revenue from products originating from the region.