Aceh

	Mother and child return to their destroyed home Photo : courtesy of Muhammad Dalan

4th May, 2001

Cut Nur Asyikin came to Australia this year with a plain message for the government and local aid groups: Aceh is in the grip of a humanitarian crisis, which is being ignored by the international community.

Asyikin, a businesswoman from the Acehnese capital of Banda Aceh, is director of the Srikandi Aceh Foundation, a human rights group she established three years ago. She came to Australia in April for meetings in Sydney and Canberra with AusAID, the Australian Council for Overseas Aid (ACFOA), Legal Aid, the Equal Opportunity Commission, student and union groups.

Speaking through an interpreter she said Achenese civilians are bearing the brunt of a protracted struggle between Indonesian government forces and Free Aceh (GAM) rebels, who have been fighting for independence for the region for more than 20 years.

For the last three years Asyikin said there has been a floating population of Acehnese refugees numbering up to 100 000.

When the military moves in to ësweepí a village, villagers are forced to flee to other parts of the countryside. Continued sweeps throughout the province mean that as villagers from one area return home, those in another area are displaced.

In the industrial city of Lhokseumawe for example, Asyikin said up to 1500 refugees from outlying villages have been sheltering at the local technical college for two years, sleeping on the floor of the building or outside in tents.

Refugees throughout the province are in dire need of food, medicine and clothing. Many do not receive any assistance from international humanitarian groups and rely on donations of food from local charities. Health problems, including high infant mortality rates, are common in the regionís makeshift refugee camps.

Under the ironically named Operasi Cinta Menasa ñ or Operation Mosque Love ñ Asyikin said the military have also removed an important sanctuary for the local people, who are overwhelmingly Muslim. In the past, when soldiers swept through a village in search of GAM rebels, villagers sheltered in local mosques (menasa). Now the soldiers are basing themselves in the mosques.

She says the military has also stepped up its campaign in the last two months and in March alone 12 00 village homes throughout the province were burnt.

The intensification of the military campaign is partly in response to the closure of the Acehís Arun oil and gas field. Oil giant Exxon Mobil, which had been the target of GAM strikes, stopped production at Arun in late March, citing security concerns according to Asyikin.

"Since Aceh joined with Indonesia 54 years ago, we have seen four presidents ñ Sukarno, Soeharto, Habibie and Gus Dur (Wahid). During those four eras, (none of the presidents) want to turn their attention to (Acehís problems), because they fear losing Acehís natural resources," said Asyikin. "Indonesia will go hungry if Aceh beaks away."

She said the rape of Acehnese women by Indonesian soldiers is also common, citing three separate incidents in which Indonesian soldiers raped Acehnese women and then forced the womenís sons to also rape them.

Rape brings shame on the victim and on the victimís family. As Asyikin says, "It is difficult for her, not only to marry, but also to go outside her home (after the rape)."

According to Asyikin, human rights workers whoíve investigated the brutal tactics of the Indonesian forces are targeted too. A team of ulemas ñ Islamic scholarsñ investigating the alleged rape of five schoolgirls by Indonesian mobile police (Brimob) were murdered in March along with their driver.

Asyikin wants the Australian government to send more aid to the region. Questioned as to whether sheíd also like Australia to send human rights observers, she said: "Send as many as you like, they can go around Aceh and see the rape and the killings."

"For 54 years we have (been) part of Indonesia and in that time they always treat us brutally, so it is better if we break from Indonesia. The people want independence because independence will bring peace," says Asyikin, "if there is no independence then there will be no peace."

For further information on Aceh see :
The Aceh Times
Aceh Links
aceh.org