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by Salim Osman, Jakarta, Straits Times, February 14, 2006
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He also expressed concern that Jakarta would continue to manage extraction of Aceh's natural resources, although the Bill says 80 per cent of the revenue will go to the territory. 'Jakarta can say that it gives Aceh 80 per cent of the revenue but we don't know exactly how much revenue is reaped from tapping our natural resources. We can be shortchanged,' Mr Kamaruzzaman said. |
EVEN before parliament starts its deliberation today, the Aceh Government Bill has already been slammed by critics for not sticking to the spirit of the Helsinki peace agreement.
Objections to the draft law revolve mainly around Jakarta's decision to drop a number of articles proposed by the Aceh Legislative Council (DPRD) from the Bill that the government submitted to the House of Representatives last month for its passage by March 31.
The draft law has also been criticised by nationalist politicians and retired military leaders who warn that it could threaten the unitary state of Indonesia.
The proposed legislation is the latest hurdle facing Jakarta since the signing of the peace agreement last August between the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). It incorporates versions prepared by the DPRD and GAM after months of consultations with groups in the tsunami-ravaged province.
At various forums held here and in Banda Aceh last week, Aceh activists expressed unhappiness over political representation and power-sharing between the central government and the Aceh administration.
The Bill drops a key demand by the Acehnese that candidates in local elections can run as independents and approves only candidates with party tickets.
Analyst Ikrar Nusa Bhakti told The Straits Times that the clause would prevent former rebels from running for the posts of governor, deputy governor and other regional appointments in local elections in Aceh scheduled for April. 'They want to contest as independents because the time is too short to create their own political party. Besides, the existing political parties would not endorse them,' said the Indonesian Institute of Sciences analyst.
A former GAM leader who was one of the negotiators for the peace pact, Mr Teuku Kamaruzzaman, told The Straits Times: 'The clause for independent candidates is important for every Acehnese aspiring for political office. How can democracy grow if channels are not open to people to participate in politics?'
He also expressed concern that Jakarta would continue to manage extraction of Aceh's natural resources, although the Bill says 80 per cent of the revenue will go to the territory. 'Jakarta can say that it gives Aceh 80 per cent of the revenue but we don't know exactly how much revenue is reaped from tapping our natural resources. We can be shortchanged,' Mr Kamaruzzaman said.
Aceh activists are also against a clause that allows the central government to carve new provinces out of Aceh's territory.
'This clause goes against the spirit of the Helsinki accord which guarantees Aceh's territorial integrity,' said Mr Agung Wijaya of the Aceh Democracy Network.
Mr Kamaruzzaman said that he and other activists would lobby the legislators to press for changes to the legislation. 'The stunted hopes of the Acehnese can cause another political upheaval which can threaten peace,' he warned.
The nationalist Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), led by former president Megawati Sukarnoputri, and retired military officers are critical of the Bill but for a different reason. They feel that the draft law, which also grants Aceh the right to fly its own flag besides the national Indonesian flag, and an Aceh national song distinct from the national anthem, may undermine the unitary state of Indonesia. 'We want the government to explain whether this Bill is not against the Constitution before we can start the debate in parliament,' said Mr Andreas Pareira, a PDI-P MP from Flores.
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