Politics of national integration : the case of Aceh in Indonesia

Abstract

This study examines the issue of politics of national integration in an attempt to explainthe case of the Acehnese separatism in Indonesia Its focus is on the governmentsconfrontation policy through the enforcement of DOM (daerah Operas) Militer/militaryoperation zone) in Aceh during 1989-1999 period, to silent the idea of separatismpropagated by the GAM (Gerakcm Aceh Merdeka/ Free Aceh Movement) in the region,as well as the impact of such policy on the Acehnese attitude toward the GAM ,s-a-vnsthe central government The data for this analysis are derived from major sources of non-survey data, namelypress reports and standard biographical publication for the elite backgrounds and othergovernment and non-government sources of aggregate data Semi-structuredinterviews, analysis of students congress and recommendations of various conferencesand written works were also used An examination of the case of the Acehnese separatism v,s-a-Ws Indonesian nationalintegration, shows a pattern of communal confrontation rather than integration Thereason for this confrontative attitude is found in the socio-religious, political andeconomic environments Particularly, after the enforcement of a decade of militaryoperation in Aceh, primarily because of the brutality of the government military forcestowards the civilians, the sense of solidarity among the Acehnese has grown towardsthe cause of the ClAM Consequently, the government has not only failed to eliminatethe idea of separatism among the Acehnese, but also escalated the wdl of theAcehnese to be independent from Indonesia through a referendum or through militaryconfrontation