[Nasional-e] Fwd: [koran-sastra] "Make Love, Not War!" in Aceh
enjoy_aje
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Thu Oct 3 00:24:03 2002
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kang bondet wrote:To: "Koran-Sastra"
CC: "ppi-swiss"
From: "kang bondet"
Date: Wed, 2 Oct 2002 08:28:59 +0200
Subject: [koran-sastra] "Make Love, Not War!" in Aceh
Indonesia House, Amsterdam
http://www.indonesia-house.org/
politics & human rights
"Make Love, Not War!" in Aceh
By Aboeprijadi Santoso, journalist, Amsterdam
"Why is it that they want to maintain the nation by fighting against our
brothers and sisters?" Such is the Aceh-puzzle that disturbs Yayak, an
Indonesian artist living in Cologne, Germany. Fears have grown that the
next round of talk between the government in Jakarta and the Acehnese
rebels GAM (Free Aceh Movement) in Geneva may sooner or later end up
with an escalation of war. Already Jakarta hardliners' emergency calls
have deepened the crisis in Aceh. Any escalation would perpetuate what
is seen as New Order's habit of state violence, impoverishment and
sufferings at grass root level. As a result, there is a growing
alienation vis a vis state authorities among the civil society. Three
examples illustrate this perspective.
It has been argued that Southeast Asian old states actually mirror a
theatre. The American anthropologist Clifford Geertz suggests, all that
mattered for them was not so much the might and power, but the great
cultural and moral superiority they claimed and displayed for the sake
of their own aggrandizement. Today it seems just the other way around:
it is the might and power, as exemplified by its influence, geographic
scale, and military might that mark modern nation-states.
To people like Yayak, these state's businesses and symbols are
irrelevant -- "it is human life that matter, isn't it?" he insists. In a
very similar way, the Dutch colonial-state and the Javanese aristocrats
were once seen as oppressive and irrelevant by the Blora (Central
Java)-based Saminist peasants. Yayak Iskra Ismaya, 46, an imaginative
graphic-designer, painter and folklore singer, painted vigorous images
of state's repression and various fates of children. He was forced to
leave his hometown Yogyakarta in 1992 because he made a calendar of
Indonesia's pro-democratic struggle allegedly humiliating Mr. and Madame
Soeharto (1990). Yet he keeps his empathy and fighting spirit alive,
witnessed a war theatre in Aceh in 1989, helped aid agencies helping
children in Thailand, India and Africa, and now embarks on a popular
education project (Perguruan Rakyat Merdeka) in Indonesia. He recently
introduces his song "Ciliwung Merdeka" (Free Ciliwung) calling for
solidarity with Jakarta's marginalized people.
Pipit Rochijat, 53, another example, is a witty ex-student, who
abandoned his study in Berlin, Germany, to resist the intimidation that
the Indonesian military attaches put him through in the eighties. A
prolific writer, he became well known as his essay "Saya PKI atau
non-PKI?" (Am I PKI or non-PKI? - PKI is the outlawed Indonesian
Communist Party) was translated and published by Cornell University's
periodical Indonesia in 1985. Pipit's internationally celebrated essay -
pointing to the New Order's brutal method and ugly reasoning as he
describes the mid-sixties massacres in East Java's Kediri - put him in
the same niche as Yayak. He appears to suggest that state's obsessions,
like with Hitler and Stalin, could easily lead to, and be used to
justify, a human tragedy.
Otto Shamsuddin Ishak, 43, articulates similar views with deep
humanitarian concerns as Yayak and Pipit. A perceptive sociologist, who
studied in Yogyakarta and used to live in Aceh, he focuses on injustice,
repression and people's sufferings; his books on Tengku Bantaqiah
killings and "Jakarta's panic" should contribute efforts to understand
present-day Aceh. "The next Geneva meet should at least agree on methods
to control armed movements of both sides of the conflict that has
victimized the civil society," he urges.Last year he witnessed the Sept.
11 attack as he crawled in the dust of Manhattan's streets. "Even in New
York, which was not a conflict area like my homeland Aceh, the security
of people is no longer assured. Not the state, but the common people
were being victimized. Yet, instead of human security, state security
has since acquired a paramount importance. The 11-09 has pushed back the
primacy of human rights," he concludes.Y
ayak's, Pipit's and Otto's values - precisely because they have
themselves been victimized by the impact of a brutal state at home or
abroad - are relevant and reflect concerns on problems like Aceh and
Papua. To share their concerns is to see the problems from the victims'
perspective. Few in war-torn Aceh, except the security apparatuses,
would ask - to borrow Pipit's style - the silly question "Are you GAM or
non-GAM?" The question is irrelevant since the problem obviously is not
the label but the real injustice and the escalating violence. While the
idea of "independent Aceh" has naturally grown from this context - one
cannot, therefore, blame the locals for that - it is the state
politicians and the military and the rebels, who were responsible for
the war.
Acehnese, who grew up in the midst of the conflict since the
late-eighties and become pro-independent-minded, should not be punished
and forced to lick and scrap the words "referendum" and "freedom" from
the wall, whilst the dictator, generals and officers, who were
responsible for the atrocities, enjoy absolute impunity. The Army has in
fact lost any legitimacy to be part of the solution since they have been
- and remain - part of the problem for decades. As a consequence, most
Acehnese may by now be sympathetic to the idea of independence although
this may not necessarily imply active support for the rebels. As both
activists and locals in Aceh told this writer recently, the state will
have to deal with, not only GAM, but local independence aspiration.
For once the spirit is out of the bottle, you cannot put it back; to do
so is to kill human beings that would provoke a greater tragedy. To win
heart and mind, thus, becomes increasingly critical. Indonesia's
experience with East Timor has demonstrated that its army has failed to
do just that. According to local human rights NGO Kontras, South Aceh,
for example - with a concentration of migrants, reportedly a training
ground for Army backed militias, and close to strong GAM bases in West
Aceh - now has the second-highest level of violence (after East Aceh).
Recent arrests of foreign observers - Lesley McCulloch and Joy Stadler -
in that very area may trigger Aceh, like East Timor, to be closed from
the outside world. But, as the East Timor case has taught us, no
bloodbaths will remain hidden behind the façade of peace talks.
Neither (Jakarta's desperate) ultimatum nor war-theatre can restore
people's trust. It never did anywhere on earth. Incidentally, this is
what Sri Lanka and the Tamil separatist rebels have finally realized and
agreed to pursue a peace process despite the enormous gap between them.
By contrast, Indonesia's regional rebellions in the fifties were much
less threatening as the rebel-officers were disgruntled corps-fellows
without popular support. Unlike today-rebels, they were seen as part and
parcel of the nation rather than a security problem in a resource-rich
part of what is now felt as imposed unitary state. Unless, therefore,
Jakarta generals want to risk a greater mayhem or loosing Aceh, the one
thing they must not do - and the politicians should prevent - is war.
"Make love, not war!" said Yayak. ends
***********************************************************************
Watch Indonesia! Tel./Fax +49-30-698 179 38
Planufer 92 d e-mail: watchindonesia@snafu.de
10967 Berlin http://home.snafu.de/watchin
Spendenkonto: 0 632 136 701 Dresdner Bank Berlin (BLZ 100 800 00)
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<P>
<P> <B><I>kang bondet <MBELING@ZUGERNET.CH></I></B>wrote:
<BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">To: "Koran-Sastra" <KORAN-SASTRA@YAHOOGROUPS.COM><BR>CC: "ppi-swiss" <PPI-SWISS@EGROUPS.COM><BR>From: "kang bondet" <MBELING@ZUGERNET.CH><BR>Date: Wed, 2 Oct 2002 08:28:59 +0200<BR>Subject: [koran-sastra] "Make Love, Not War!" in Aceh<BR><BR><BR>Indonesia House, Amsterdam<BR>http://www.indonesia-house.org/<BR><BR>politics & human rights<BR><BR>"Make Love, Not War!" in Aceh <BR>By Aboeprijadi Santoso, journalist, Amsterdam<BR><BR>"Why is it that they want to maintain the nation by fighting against our<BR>brothers and sisters?" Such is the Aceh-puzzle that disturbs Yayak, an<BR>Indonesian artist living in Cologne, Germany. Fears have grown that the<BR>next round of talk between the government in Jakarta and the Acehnese<BR>rebels GAM (Free Aceh Movement) in Geneva may sooner or later end up<BR>with an escalation of war. Already Jakarta hardliners' emergency calls<BR>have deepened the cr!
isis in Aceh. Any escalation would perpetuate what<BR>is seen as New Order's habit of state violence, impoverishment and<BR>sufferings at grass root level. As a result, there is a growing<BR>alienation vis a vis state authorities among the civil society. Three<BR>examples illustrate this perspective.<BR><BR>It has been argued that Southeast Asian old states actually mirror a<BR>theatre. The American anthropologist Clifford Geertz suggests, all that<BR>mattered for them was not so much the might and power, but the great<BR>cultural and moral superiority they claimed and displayed for the sake<BR>of their own aggrandizement. Today it seems just the other way around:<BR>it is the might and power, as exemplified by its influence, geographic<BR>scale, and military might that mark modern nation-states. <BR><BR>To people like Yayak, these state's businesses and symbols are<BR>irrelevant -- "it is human life that matter, isn't it?" he insists. In a<BR>very similar way, the Dutch col!
onial-state and the Javanese aristocrats<BR>were once seen as oppressive and irrelevant by the Blora (Central<BR>Java)-based Saminist peasants. Yayak Iskra Ismaya, 46, an imaginative<BR>graphic-designer, painter and folklore singer, painted vigorous images<BR>of state's repression and various fates of children. He was forced to<BR>leave his hometown Yogyakarta in 1992 because he made a calendar of<BR>Indonesia's pro-democratic struggle allegedly humiliating Mr. and Madame<BR>Soeharto (1990). Yet he keeps his empathy and fighting spirit alive,<BR>witnessed a war theatre in Aceh in 1989, helped aid agencies helping<BR>children in Thailand, India and Africa, and now embarks on a popular<BR>education project (Perguruan Rakyat Merdeka) in Indonesia. He recently<BR>introduces his song "Ciliwung Merdeka" (Free Ciliwung) calling for<BR>solidarity with Jakarta's marginalized people.<BR><BR>Pipit Rochijat, 53, another example, is a witty ex-student, who<BR>abandoned his study in Berli!
n, Germany, to resist the intimidation that<BR>the Indonesian military attaches put him through in the eighties. A<BR>prolific writer, he became well known as his essay "Saya PKI atau<BR>non-PKI?" (Am I PKI or non-PKI? - PKI is the outlawed Indonesian<BR>Communist Party) was translated and published by Cornell University's<BR>periodical Indonesia in 1985. Pipit's internationally celebrated essay -<BR>pointing to the New Order's brutal method and ugly reasoning as he<BR>describes the mid-sixties massacres in East Java's Kediri - put him in<BR>the same niche as Yayak. He appears to suggest that state's obsessions,<BR>like with Hitler and Stalin, could easily lead to, and be used to<BR>justify, a human tragedy. <BR><BR>Otto Shamsuddin Ishak, 43, articulates similar views with deep<BR>humanitarian concerns as Yayak and Pipit. A perceptive sociologist, who<BR>studied in Yogyakarta and used to live in Aceh, he focuses on injustice,<BR>repression and people's sufferings; his books !
on Tengku Bantaqiah<BR>killings and "Jakarta's panic" should contribute efforts to understand<BR>present-day Aceh. "The next Geneva meet should at least agree on methods<BR>to control armed movements of both sides of the conflict that has<BR>victimized the civil society," he urges.Last year he witnessed the Sept.<BR>11 attack as he crawled in the dust of Manhattan's streets. "Even in New<BR>York, which was not a conflict area like my homeland Aceh, the security<BR>of people is no longer assured. Not the state, but the common people<BR>were being victimized. Yet, instead of human security, state security<BR>has since acquired a paramount importance. The 11-09 has pushed back the<BR>primacy of human rights," he concludes.Y<BR><BR>ayak's, Pipit's and Otto's values - precisely because they have<BR>themselves been victimized by the impact of a brutal state at home or<BR>abroad - are relevant and reflect concerns on problems like Aceh and<BR>Papua. To share their concerns is to se!
e the problems from the victims'<BR>perspective. Few in war-torn Aceh, except the security apparatuses,<BR>would ask - to borrow Pipit's style - the silly question "Are you GAM or<BR>non-GAM?" The question is irrelevant since the problem obviously is not<BR>the label but the real injustice and the escalating violence. While the<BR>idea of "independent Aceh" has naturally grown from this context - one<BR>cannot, therefore, blame the locals for that - it is the state<BR>politicians and the military and the rebels, who were responsible for<BR>the war. <BR><BR>Acehnese, who grew up in the midst of the conflict since the<BR>late-eighties and become pro-independent-minded, should not be punished<BR>and forced to lick and scrap the words "referendum" and "freedom" from<BR>the wall, whilst the dictator, generals and officers, who were<BR>responsible for the atrocities, enjoy absolute impunity. The Army has in<BR>fact lost any legitimacy to be part of the solution since they have bee!
n<BR>- and remain - part of the problem for decades. As a consequence, most<BR>Acehnese may by now be sympathetic to the idea of independence although<BR>this may not necessarily imply active support for the rebels. As both<BR>activists and locals in Aceh told this writer recently, the state will<BR>have to deal with, not only GAM, but local independence aspiration. <BR><BR>For once the spirit is out of the bottle, you cannot put it back; to do<BR>so is to kill human beings that would provoke a greater tragedy. To win<BR>heart and mind, thus, becomes increasingly critical. Indonesia's<BR>experience with East Timor has demonstrated that its army has failed to<BR>do just that. According to local human rights NGO Kontras, South Aceh,<BR>for example - with a concentration of migrants, reportedly a training<BR>ground for Army backed militias, and close to strong GAM bases in West<BR>Aceh - now has the second-highest level of violence (after East Aceh).<BR>Recent arrests of foreig!
n observers - Lesley McCulloch and Joy Stadler -<BR>in that very area may trigger Aceh, like East Timor, to be closed from<BR>the outside world. But, as the East Timor case has taught us, no<BR>bloodbaths will remain hidden behind the façade of peace talks.<BR><BR>Neither (Jakarta's desperate) ultimatum nor war-theatre can restore<BR>people's trust. It never did anywhere on earth. Incidentally, this is<BR>what Sri Lanka and the Tamil separatist rebels have finally realized and<BR>agreed to pursue a peace process despite the enormous gap between them.<BR>By contrast, Indonesia's regional rebellions in the fifties were much<BR>less threatening as the rebel-officers were disgruntled corps-fellows<BR>without popular support. Unlike today-rebels, they were seen as part and<BR>parcel of the nation rather than a security problem in a resource-rich<BR>part of what is now felt as imposed unitary state. Unless, therefore,<BR>Jakarta generals want to risk a greater mayhem or loosing Ac!
eh, the one<BR>thing they must not do - and the politicians should prevent - is war.<BR>"Make love, not war!" said Yayak. ends<BR><BR>***********************************************************************<BR>Watch Indonesia! Tel./Fax +49-30-698 179 38 <BR>Planufer 92 d e-mail: watchindonesia@snafu.de <BR>10967 Berlin http://home.snafu.de/watchin <BR><BR>Spendenkonto: 0 632 136 701 Dresdner Bank Berlin (BLZ 100 800 00)<BR>***********************************************************************<BR><BR>------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--><BR>Home Selling? Try Us!<BR>http://us.click.yahoo.com/QrPZMC/iTmEAA/MVfIAA/x3XolB/TM<BR>---------------------------------------------------------------------~-><BR><BR>To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:<BR>koran-sastra-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com<BR><BR><BR><BR>Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ <BR><BR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>Info milis (subscribe/ber!
gabung dan unsubscribe/berhenti milis): <br>groups.yahoo.com/group/koran-salatiga <br>groups.yahoo.com/group/koran-sastra <br>groups.yahoo.com/group/das-kapital<br>groups.yahoo.com/group/unmasked-globalization<p><br><hr size=1>Do you Yahoo!?<br>
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