Free Aceh Movement
Free Aceh Movement | |
---|---|
Gerakan Aceh Merdeka | |
Leaders | Hasan di Tiro |
Dates of operation | 4 December 1976 – 2005 |
Active regions | City, mountains and forests of Aceh |
Ideology | Acehnese nationalism Separatism Islamic fundamentalism |
Allies | Libya[1] |
Opponents | Indonesia (until 2005) |
Battles and wars | Insurgency in Aceh |
The Free Aceh Movement (
The organisation surrendered its separatist intentions and dissolved its armed wing following 2005 peace agreement with the Indonesian government, and subsequently changed its name into Aceh Transition Committee (Indonesian: Komite Peralihan Aceh, KPA). The Indonesian government called the group the Aceh Security Disturbance Movement.
Background
The conflict in Aceh stems from several major factors including historical mistreatment, disagreements over
During the era of
Motivated by discovery of large gas reserves in
Armed wing
- National Acehnese Army or (Acehnese: Teuntra Neugara Aceh) (TNA)
- Acheh Sumatra National Liberation Front (ASNLF)
- Laskar Inong Balee
Guerilla war
GAM Incarnation | Years Operating | Active members | Casualties |
---|---|---|---|
GAM I | 1976–79 | 25–200 | >100 |
GAM II | 1989–91 | 200–750 | 2,000–10,000 |
GAM III | 1999–2002 | 15,000–27,000 | 4,364 |
Since its inception GAM has gone through three stages or three rises and falls. The first was at its birth in 1976 to the year 1979 when it was almost wiped out. The second rise and fall was in 1989 to the early 90s when it received funding and training from foreign countries. The third rise was a result of finally gaining widespread support throughout Aceh as a result of donations and extortion and a large group of potential soldiers who had lost relatives in the previous uprising.
GAM I
At first the guerrilla war of GAM was quite unsuccessful. By 1977, the central government appeared to have entirely neutralised the group.[6] The early GAM efforts were mainly directed at the local ExxonMobil gas plant. Di Tiro had connections with the petroleum industry and even bid, via a tender process, on a contract to build a gas pipeline which was beaten by the gas giant Bechtel.[5] The reason for this failure was a lack of popular support from both within Aceh and from international sources. President Suharto was favoured by countries such as America due to his anti communist policies during the Cold War period[6] and likely due to the need for oil thanks to the 1970s oil shocks.
GAM II
The group renewed its activities in the 1989, apparently with financial support from
In 1996, the Indonesian government announced the end of GAM[12] as the counter-insurgency operations had effectively destroyed GAM as a guerrilla force. Surviving GAM members were forced to hide in Malaysia.
GAM III
The fall of
Peace negotiations
The leaders of GAM,
In 1999, it was reported that the group had split into two factions, GAM (representing the original group) and the Free Aceh Movement Government Council (MP-GAM).[14] This was denied by GAM spokespersons but was widely reported in the Indonesian media.[15]
In December 2002, GAM and GoI signed a breakthrough Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA) which only held for a few months before violations started occurring.[16] The mediator in these negotiations, the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, did not have adequate monitoring and enforcing mechanisms to enact sanctions for violations.[17]
In 2002–2004, the GAM was severely hit by a series of government offensives in which the organisation lost approximately 50% of its members including its commander, Abdullah Syafei'i Dimatang, who was killed in a military ambush in January 2002.
On 28 December 2004, in the aftermath of the devastation caused by a
Other Aceh separatist groups exist and there was some tension between them and GAM over tactics and GAM's monopoly of negotiations with the government.
On 27 February 2005, the Free Aceh Movement and the delegation of the Indonesian government started another round of peace talks in Vantaa, Finland, moderated by former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari.[18] On 16 July 2005, the Indonesian Minister of Communication and GAM announced a peace deal to end the thirty-year insurgency.
The peace agreement was officially signed on 15 August 2005 in the
Under the terms of the agreement, both sides agreed to cease all hostilities immediately. GAM also agreed to disarm, while the Government pledged to withdraw all non-local military and police by the end of 2005. An Aceh Monitoring Mission was set up by the EU and ASEAN to oversee the process of disarmament and the reintegration into society of GAM members.[20] A presidential decree granted amnesty to about five hundred former GAM members who were in exile in other countries, and unconditionally released about 1,400 members who had been jailed by the Government.[21][22]
The Government agreed to facilitate the establishment of Aceh-based political parties; this had been one of the most contentious issues in previous negotiations. A "truth and reconciliation commission" will be organised. On the question of the uneven distribution of income, it was settled that seventy percent of the income from local natural resources will stay within Aceh.
On 27 December 2005, the leaders of the Free Aceh Movement announced that they had disbanded their military wing.[23] The action, which took effect immediately, follows from earlier peace talks and the destruction of 840 weapons by international observers, Free Aceh movement commander Sofyan Daud told reporters, "The Aceh national army is now part of civil society, and will work to make the peace deal a success." As a sign of how the peace process was progressing the founder of Aceh's separatist rebel movement, Hasan di Tiro, returned to Indonesia on 11 October 2008 after nearly 30 years in exile.[24]
2006 elections
During the election of 11 December 2006, the Free Aceh Movement temporarily split into two factions each supporting its own candidate for governorship. One side supported Zaini Abdullah's brother, and the other side supported Irwandi Yusuf, a former GAM negotiator. Irwandi Yusuf got more support from the grass root level and won the election.[25] The losing faction proceeded to bide its time, aiming to make a comeback in the next gubernatorial election in Aceh due at the end of Irwandi's five-year term in 2011. In the event, the gubernatorial election due to be held at the end of 2011 was delayed by procedural squabbling as different factions scrambled for advantage. The elections took place in April 2012.
2012 elections
The 2012 election, held on 9 April, was largely a continuation of post-agreement rivalries between former GAM leaders, with Zaini Abdullah having returned from exile and entered into the contest for the governorship against Irwandi. Zaini Abdullah, with the strong support of the Aceh Party, won the election with a substantial majority.
See also
References
- ^ "Libyan terrorism: the case against Gaddafi. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com.
- ^ Ricklefs, M.C. (2008). History of Modern Indonesia Since c. 1200. Stanford University Press. p. 364.
- ^ a b "Indonesia agrees Aceh peace deal". BBC News. 17 July 2005. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
- ^ a b c d "Aceh's Gam separatists". BBC News. 24 January 2005. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
- ^ The World Bank. Archived from the original(PDF) on 30 October 2008. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
- ^ ISBN 1-932728-02-3.
- ^ "Komnas HAM: Kopassus 'diduga terlibat pelanggaran HAM berat' di Aceh". BBC News Indonesia.
- ^ "GAM Lahir demi Kedaulatan atas Kekayaan Alam Aceh".
- ^ "Indonesia: Human rights atrocities in Aceh". Amnesty International. 25 August 1998. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
- ^ "Indonesia: Militer Menyiksa Tahanan di Aceh". 27 September 2004.
- ^ "Indonesia: Military Tortures Prisoners in Aceh". 28 September 2004.
- ^ "Free Aceh Movement [Gerakin Aceh Merdeka (GAM)]". GlobalSecurity.org. 2008. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
- ^ Barakat, S Connolly, D & Large, J. Winning and Losing in Aceh: Five Key Dilemmas in Third-Party Intervention. Frank Crass London
- ISBN 978-0-415-45467-4
- ISBN 978-0-415-66896-5.
- ^ "Aceh, Indonesia | HD Centre". Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- ^ Huber, K, 2004, The HDC in Aceh: Promises and pitfalls of NGO mediation and implementation, East-West Center, Washington.
- ISBN 978-979-1295-11-6.
- ^ "Acehin rauhansopimuksesta 10 vuotta" (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 5 January 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
- doi:10.1111/j.1475-5661.2007.00257.x. Retrieved 11 October 2008.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ "The Free Aceh Movement (GAM): Anatomy of a Separatist Organization". 11 March 2004.
- TheGuardian.com. 16 September 2005.
- ^ "Aceh rebels disband armed units". BBC News. 27 December 2005. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
- ^ "Exiled Aceh leader returns". aljazeera. 11 October 2008. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
- ^ Ben Hillman, 'Aceh's Rebels Turn to Ruling', Far Eastern Economic Review, Vol. 170, No. 1, January–February 2007, 49–53.
Further reading
- Anderson, Bobby (2013). Gangster, Ideologue, Martyr: the Posthumous Reinvention of Teungku Badruddin and the Nature of the Free Aceh Movement, in Conflict, Security, and Development Issue 13.1, King's College London.
- Sjamsuddin, Nazaruddin (1985). The Republican Revolt: A Study of the Acehnese Rebellion. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. ISBN 978-9971-988-16-6.
- Miller, Michelle Ann (2009). Rebellion and Reform in Indonesia. Jakarta's Security and Autonomy Policies in Aceh. London and New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-45467-4
- Missbach, Antje (2012). Separatist Conflict in Indonesia: The long-distance politics of the Acehnese diaspora. London and New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-66896-5
External links
- Full text of 2005 peace agreement, BBC, 15 August 2005
- The Election of Aceh Governor, Tribun Barat, 15 June 2016