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Peace in Aceh: A Jusuf Kalla's Invention [By Nezar Patria]
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Tapol
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Oct 27, 2009 01:09 PST
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From Joyo
VIVAnews (Jakarta) Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Peace in Aceh: An Invention
Jusuf Kalla has been a man that comes up with solutions.
By Nezar Patria
War, according to Sir Henry Maine, appears to be as old as
mankind. “But peace," the British judge said sometime in 19th
century Europe, "is a modern invention." Peace may be a “modern
invention”. Or it may not. Amidst the war which is as old as
human civilization, peace is indeed not easy to grasp.
In Aceh, for example, people often reminisce: at one point in
time, peace is a failure. For three decades, politics in the
province was driven by outrage. Weapons take out words. On
behalf of justice, a concept of Indonesia was challenged by the
Aceh Freedom Movement (GAM). “Indonesia,“ said Hasan Tiro, the
leader of the movement, “is not more than a colonial concept
invented by the Dutch and is then resumed by Javanese
imperialists,”
Hasan Tiro had great passion in giving rise to the old
sovereignty: a glorious Aceh, just like during the era of
Iskandar Muda sultanate. Certainly, as we all know, the New
Order regime crushed the dream. When the regime was brought down
by the reform, the new ruler still could not stop the war in the
area.
Therefore, in Aceh, people also recall Jusuf Kalla. On August
15, 2005, as the temperature in Helsinki dropped to below zero,
he defrosted an issue that had been frozen between Aceh and
Jakarta: Trust. Kalla was not there when the peace treaty was
signed by both parties. He, together with President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono, witnessed the historical moment from Jakarta.
Was the reconciliation possible without Kalla? He is a trader
who runs politics as frisky as he works with trading formula.
“Negotiations are about offer,“ Kalla said one day when he
started to work on Aceh. “If you can’t get one with the price of
ten, you can ask for fifteen with the price of 2,” Kalla, in
many ways possible, is a pragmatist.
But, as we could see, the trading approach is most of the time
not flawless.
Two months before the Tsunami hit Aceh in December 2004, Kalla
had actually taken the steps to gain reconciliation. At that
time, he was just inaugurated as the Vice President and was
convinced that he would be able to settle the conflicts in Aceh,
just like he did in Ambon and Poso.
Kalla later assigned the task to Hamid Awaluddin, his confidant
who was newly appointed the Minister of Justice and Human
Rights. The plan was top-secret: persuading GAM commanders.
“Don’t let the press know,“ Kalla reminded.
The leaders of the movement, who were in Sweden, were ignored
for a moment. Probably, in this strategy, they were not really
important. To Hamid, those who were at war and suffered were
those who were living in Aceh. What they needed was a respected
high commander. He had to be negotiable as well.
Hamid’s attempt was not really successful. It even turned out to
be funny.
Once, the respected contact was made. A proposal had been
prepared. There were also concession agreements on palm oil
plantation, abundant electricity, special aircrafts and a
world’s class airport for Aceh. The proposal also included the
signatures of several government officials including Hamid.
Across the table, there were two GAM negotiators: M Daud Syah
and Harun Yusuf.
Daud was said to be Hasan Tiro’s loyal follower and was
influential in Malaysia. Like Daud, in Malaysia, Harun was known
as the “Chevrotain”. However, Daud failed in convincing Muzakkir
Manaf. “Please address political affairs to Sweden,“ Muzakkir
said. Harun was directly pushed away. “They are not our
negotiators,“ M Nur Djuli, GAM’s official negotiator, said.
In Malaysia, Harun was more popular as herbal trader. He,
apparently, was not an influential combatant.
But, Kalla never gave up. He then turned to the opposite way.
Hamid was sent to Europe and the Netherland until finally a
delegation was assigned to Sweden. Eventually, there was some
hope. Hasan Tiro, through GAM Prime Minister Malik Mahmud agreed
to hold a dialogue if there was one mediating country. It was
not easy for Kalla. Yudhoyono’s administration would be squashed
by the opposition for putting GAM under the world’s political
spotlight.
The matter was how to keep a world-class dialogue going.
One day in January 2005, former Finland President, Martti
Ahtisaari, received a call from a friend of him, the chief
editor of a reputable newspaper in Helsinki. To Martti, the
friend said there was a message from Indonesia, asking Martti to
be a mediator. Martti, as he told me later, was in the first
place reluctant. He was working on some peace efforts in Africa
and Eastern Europe. Indonesia, probably, was way too far.
In the end, Martti nodded to the request, considering Aceh was
one of the areas destroyed by the Tsunami and put the whole
world in grief. The chief editor was Juha Christensen, a Finland
citizen who was also an expert in pharmacy. Juha speaks fluent
Makassar language. He is the colleague of Farid Hussein, one of
Kalla’s men who joined the reconciliation team in Jakarta.
We all know how the story went. Kalla’s men ingratiated GAM’s
leaders in Sweden. The negotiation began and was led by Martti.
It was tough at first, but Kalla always came up with solutions.
When deadlock was about to emerge, Kalla made a quick decision.
One of Kalla’s men testified: One time Hamid was overwhelmed by
the numerous conditions proposed by GAM at the negotiation in
Helsinki. He later called Kalla in Jakarta. “Have you ever
proposed credit at the bank? Did you read all of the terms?”
Kalla asked. Just like business, to Kalla, credit terms are not
something crucial. Most importantly, the money can be cashed and
the business can run. “Hamid, the most important thing is that
they agree to be part of Indonesia. Other issues don’t really
matter,“ Kalla said. Then, the dialogue proceeded.
Pragmatism, in certain extent, is sometimes vital. Kalla has
proven it. As acknowledged by M Nur Djuli, the former Vice
President played an important role every time the negotiations
met a dead end. For example, on Aceh local party, “Kalla gave
the green light. Local parties are allowed to be set up,“ Djuli
said.
Since then, Kalla was trusted by GAM leaders in Sweden. He was
agile. Kalla figured the group’s thoughts and feelings out. “I
read almost every Hasan Tiro’s book,“ Kalla said one time at the
Vice President’s office. He believes that dialogues are possible
only if both parties know and respect each other. He often joked
during the meeting with Malik Mahmud’s group that it was the
meeting of GAM. “Gabungan Aceh Makassar (Aceh-Makassar Group)”,
Kalla said.
The Helsinki agreement was completed in seven months. Not only
did Kalla boost Indonesia’s reputation, he also set an example
for other Southeast Asian countries. To Aceh, who has been
devastated by war, peace may be an invention. They will always
recollect Kalla: a leader who believes that peace is not
nonsense.
Nezar Patria, VIVANews.com Journalist
(The article is also published in the book,”They Talk About JK”,
NPCI Jakarta, 2009, launched at the Sultan Hotel in Jakarta on
October 21, 2009, at the end-of-task ceremony of Jusuf Kalla,
Indonesian Vice President (2004-2009)
Translated by: Nataya Ermanti
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