Zuhri Noviandi, Banda Aceh – The Banda Aceh Legal Aid Foundation (LBH) says the chaos that occurred during the 21st Aceh Peace Day commemoration at the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque has done irreparable damage to the momentum of Aceh's peace.
LBH Banda Aceh Director Aulianda Wafisa said that the Aceh Peace Day commemoration should have been a moment for the community to celebrate and reflect on the 21-year journey of peace since the signing of the Helsinki Memorandum of Understanding on August 15, 2005.
According to Wafisa, it should have provided space for the Acehnese people to celebrate peace and evaluate the extent to which the goals of peace have been realised in the people's lives.
However, in the midst this momentum the government was in fact seen as obstructing the Acehnese people's right to assemble and express their opinions in public.
Wafisa made this statement in response to the chaos that occurred at the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque in Banda Aceh.
"Yet, gathering to commemorate 21 years of peace in Aceh, express gratitude, as well as reflect on the journey and future of peace is part of the civil liberties and democracy that should be guaranteed by the state", Wafisa told the media in Banda Aceh on Saturday August 15.
He believes the use of armed force against civilians seeking to express their aspirations demonstrates the government's excessive fear and panic about the political expression by the Acehnese people.
According to Wafisa, the symbols used by citizens, including Free Aceh Movement (GAM) flags and political demands related to the current situation in Aceh, should be addressed through democratic dialogue, not with a security approach and the deployment of armed force.
"We believe the excessive use of armed force in dealing with demonstrations and political expression by citizens is evidence that democracy in Indonesia continues to retreat", he said.
Wafisa said that the state should guarantee space for citizens to express criticism and aspirations peacefully, not restrict them through intimidation, raids or the deployment of armed forces.
LBH Banda Aceh is calling on the government to stop all forms of obstruction of the rights of Acehnese citizens to assemble and express their opinions peacefully.
"Peace is not enough to just be commemorated, it must continue to be realised through respect for people's rights and resolving problems through dialogue", he said.
Kontras highlights deployment of security forces
Meanwhile, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) Aceh Coordinator Azharul Husna stated that the commemoration of the 21st Aceh Peace Day, which should have been a momentum to maintain peace and ensure there was no further violence in resolving issues, was instead tarnished by the repressive actions of security forces.
Husna believes that the riots that occurred during the commemoration were not isolated incidents, but rather part of a broader problem that must be viewed holistically.
"From the state, the state has been carrying out repressive actions through the deployment of security forces from the TNI [Indonesian Military] in the lead-up to the 21st Aceh Peace Day. This was evidenced by raids targeting residents along the route from several regencies to Banda Aceh", he said.
According to Husna, the inspections carried out by the TNI demonstrate an excessive suspicion of its own citizens.
He said the state should have opened up as much space as possible for Acehnese citizens who wanted to commemorate Aceh Peace Day as part of a reflection on peace.
"Actions such as the flag-raising by the crowd should be seen as part of the accumulation of disappointments over the years, including the government's failure to handle post-disaster recovery in Aceh", he said.
Husna also believed that firing shots into the air and other uses of violence were unnecessary.
State officials, according to Husna, should prioritise an approach using persuasion and dialog when dealing with the community, especially during what should be a moment of celebration for peace.
"The actions of security forces in responding to the crowd by firing shots into the air would only return Aceh to past trauma. As is known, Aceh is a province that was once a military operation area [DOM] with a high level of violence by security forces", he said.
Notes
On August 15, 2005, the government of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) signed the Helsinki Memorandum of Understanding ending more than three decades of armed conflict between the Indonesian Military (TNI) and GAM. Over the years the conflict varied in intensity and scope but resulted in a massive level of atrocities, including the killing of tens of thousands of civilians, as well as innumerable cases of illegal detention, torture, rape and arson. The peace agreement included a framework for the future system of governance in Aceh, including an increased degree of autonomy for the region and attempted to address the key social, political, and economic causes of the conflict.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "LBH dan KontraS Sebut Aparat Represif di Momen Hari Damai Aceh".]
