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Jakarta Post

When Aceh’s flag creates fear

As a local journalist who covered the Aceh conflict during the 2000s, I and many colleagues had the opportunity to interview Free Aceh Movement (GAM) fighters

Nani Afrida (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Wed, April 3, 2013

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When Aceh’s flag creates fear

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s a local journalist who covered the Aceh conflict during the 2000s, I and many colleagues had the opportunity to interview Free Aceh Movement (GAM) fighters.

After the interviews, we often exchanged souvenirs. We would give the GAM fighters T-shirts, key holders or caps, while they handed us GAM-symbolized pins or GAM flags in return. The GAM flag is red with a white crescent and star in the middle, flanked by black and white bars, while GAM’s symbol features a lion and a buraq (a mythical horse with wings and a human face).

For the Acehnese, keeping GAM’s flags or other regalia placed them in danger. We had to hide it carefully, otherwise the Indonesian security forces would accuse us of being close to GAM and perhaps arrest us.

I remember once when my mother accidentally found a GAM flag among the books on my shelves. She looked more afraid than angry. “Never ever bring this flag in here again,” she yelled at me after burying it in the backyard.

My mother’s feeling was shared by other Acehnese everytime they found GAM flags near their houses during GAM’s anniversary every Dec. 4. People were traumatized by the flags as they were afraid of being troubled by the security forces, who usually tortured or arrested anyone in possession of such a flag. This was a horrible time for the Acehnese.

On March 24, the Aceh Provincial Legislative Council (DPRA) passed a local bylaw (perda), known as qanun No. 3/2013, which endorses the GAM flag as the provincial flag and the GAM symbol as Aceh’s symbol.

DPRA speaker Hasbi Abdullah said the flag and symbol would unite the people of Aceh. Hasbi is a prominent figure in the Aceh Party, a local party consisting of former GAM members. “The Aceh flag is also a manifestation of the Acehenese people’s cultural struggle,” he said.

Aceh Governor Zaini Abdullah, who is Hasbi’s brother, said that if the central government approved the qanun, the current Pancacita flag, which has been used since 1961, would be revoked and no longer be used.

Zaini, previously GAM’s health minister, said the flag change was based on Law No.11/2006 on Aceh government. He added that the change of flag and symbol would be conducted gradually, urging residents not to raise the new flags just yet.

As an Acehnese, I doubted that the GAM flag would be able to fly legally as fears of the danger it caused still haunted the minds of many Acehenese. However, I was proven wrong as the majority of Acehenese seem happy with the decision.

People in several areas in Aceh have started to raise the flag, with thousands at rallies with the flags in the capital, Banda Aceh, showing their excitement. The mood was a reminder of the people’s demands for a referendum in 2000.

Some friends of mine are putting the GAM flag as profile pictures on their BlackBerry smartphones, while others eagerly ask whether the central government has approved the qanun.

The central government, on the other hand, looks unhappy with the Aceh government’s decision. Jakarta-based experts and politicians keep complaining that the central government should not accommodate the move to make the GAM flag the provincial flag of Aceh.

Such concerns from Jakarta are understandable as people may conclude that if the central government endorses the flag, which symbolizes separatism, Aceh may then ask for independence. The central government must be aware of this possible scenario.

Others may think that endorsing the GAM flag as Aceh’s provincial flag will spoil an already peaceful situation, particularly the relationship between Aceh and Jakarta.

In response, both Zaini and Hasbi have stated that there was no intention for Aceh to be free from Indonesia and that the flag is meant only to unite the Acehenese in achieving prosperity.

One important aspect of the endorsement of the GAM flag as the Aceh provincial flag was part of the central government’s earlier commitment that the Acehnese select a flag and symbol for the province. Such a commitment was mentioned in the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Indonesia and the GAM in Helsinki in 2005.

Trust is the most important thing for the province, which had contributed many things before Indonesia’s independence. Aceh attained peace because of trust. If the central government ignores the promise, there will be another problem for peace in Aceh because people in Aceh believe the flag issue is not the only promise being reneged upon by Jakarta.

Several things in the peace agreement have yet to be implemented – the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission (KKR), a human rights court and the revenue sharing commitment. The issue of human rights is very serious for victims in Aceh as they need to find the truth. After more than eight years of peace in Aceh, none of the victims have received justice because of a dead end in national regulations.

Human rights victims are also dissapointed as the 2005 MoU runs counter to the 2006 Aceh Government Law. For instance, Article 227 of the law mentions that cases before 2006 cannot be processed in Aceh’s human rights court. In fact, human rights violations in Aceh happened before 2006.

Another promise is about a 70 percent share of the revenues from oil and gas reserves. The Acehnese have long blamed the central government’s greed for their poverty, as most of the revenues from the province’s resources have gone to the state’s coffers.

For the Acehnese, a promise is a promise. They will be dissapointed if the central government does not keep its word, just like during the eras of Sukarno and Soeharto.

However, if the central government finally approves the red flag as the Aceh provincial flag, I still cannot imagine how my mother would feel. I hope she is not afraid anymore, but who knows?

The writer is a journalist with The Jakarta Post.

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