Word: indonesia
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...rest of Indonesia knows little?and seemingly couldn't care less?about the fear in Aceh. In the mass media, dangdut dancer Inul Daratista's gyrations, the 2004 elections and the improving economy all featured far ahead of news about Aceh until virtually the day the campaign began. At the outset, television viewers saw some dramatic footage from Indonesian reporters embedded with the t.n.i. showing both sides of the conflict. But two days into the campaign, Aceh's military commander Major General Endang Suwarya flatly told the embeds that they were barred from using GAM statements. "I want all news...
...International Crisis Group in Jakarta. "People are saying that GAM shouldn't just be defeated but totally liquidated." Washington has applied heavy pressure behind the scenes to keep the two sides talking but has yet to condemn the atrocities in Aceh now that fighting has resumed, mindful perhaps of Indonesia's essential support in the war on terror...
...which delights Indonesia's once all-powerful generals. The military has found itself beleaguered and under suspicion ever since the fall of longtime dictator Suharto in 1998, something the current top brass is determined to change. "The military sees Aceh as a chance to regain its legitimacy and influence," says leading human-rights activist Munir. "Aceh is a way to demonstrate that they are the only force that can hold the country together. And it is a win-win situation for them: if they win and crush GAM, they are heroes. If they fail to solve the Aceh problem within...
...This ominous resurgence in military strength leads the Acehnese to view their future with increasing pessimism. With international monitors gone and human-rights activists too scared to do fieldwork, fresh atrocities are likely to go unreported. I asked an elderly rice farmer near Lhokseumawe for his view of Indonesia's military strategy in the province. "To wipe out all Acehnese people," he replied simply. Meanwhile, bereaved villagers in Peusangan are developing strategies of their own to deal with the unfolding horror. Clutching her prayer book, Ramla, the grieving mother of 18-year-old Khairurrazi, explained: "We pray, the whole family...
...fist; on his right arm and across his chest tumble rough tattoos of a sacred bird, a Bible and crucifix, and a spear. In many places scars show through the faded images, souvenirs of countless battles in the bush. Four years after the end of the war against Indonesia's occupation, this former guerrilla fighter has no job and little sense of purpose. He wonders what there is for him and his comrades in this new nation they fought so long to secure. "Where is our home? We do not have one. Where is our land? We do not have...