Why so little reporting on Aceh in the U.S.?

Great Debates
21

May I reiterate, however, it’s only an issue if you’re concerned about what sort of news coverage the general population of the United States is getting.

My point is this… with the exception of publicly funded news organisations such as PBR for example (which have a pretty small market presence) by far the majority of US news media is in the hands of private enterprise - and private enterprise means making a buck and NOT scaring your audience away.

Contrast this with Britain’s BBC, or Australia’s ABC. In those countries, you have rather sizeable TV and Radio networks which are funded out of the Federal Government coffers. Accordingly, the same sort of commercial pressures which exist in Commercial TV and Radio don’t exist - in particular, the innate pressure to choose which stories are newsworthy based on trying to avoid scaring away as much of your audience as possible.

I personally have the highest regard for the USA’s most famous newspapers - remarkable journalists and talented, honest people. However, within reason, newsprint tends to follow the lead shown by TV news - it’s wrong, I know, but it does. There’s a cyclical relationship there.

So, I believe the answer to the OP lays most of all in the fact that US media organisations are privately owned enterprises which have to consider such issues as not losing ratings. Hence, American interest stories tend to assume greater priority over other foreign stories. And besides, the USA is a big, high action place. THere’s almost always enough interesting shit going on WITHIN the USA to fill an entire 6:30 pm News bulletin without any troubles whatsoever.

I’m willing to wager, however, that if the USA had a Federally funded equivalent to the BBC, then the lay of the land would be entirely different.

What tends to happen in Britain, and Australia (and I suspect Canada as well) is that the editors of the national broadcasters can make editorial decisions which are free of commercial pressures - and in doing so - our commercial networks follow the lead as it were… partially out of good conscience, and partially because they don’t want to be seen to be losing credibility to the National Broadcasters.

The solution (it seems to me) would be for the USA to create a federally funded National Broadcasting network which has editorial freedom to report factually which CAN’T be abused as a mouthpiece for those in Executive power. It’s pretty easy to achieve if you lay out the Broadcaster’s charter the right way.

One thing’s for sure, it would certainly allow the citizens of the USA to be seen thru the eyes of the outside world far more so than is currently the case - which is no bad thing I rather think.

22

It’s interesting to note that CNN.com just reported the U.S. has extended a travel warning to Indonesia; the story (from AP) is here. The article does not mention any misbehavior on the part of Indonesia, and gives the impression the separatists are somehow linked to Al Qaeda.

23

Ahhh yes… the dreaded “somehow linked to Al Qaeda” option…

I wonder how long it will be in future elections, before one party in the USA accuses the other of “somehow being linked to Al Qaeda”. It seems to be the universal bogeyman at the moment.

My understanding of the Aceh problem is this…

It’s the northern end of Sumatra, an island which basically runs north south, and Aceh Province is about 100 miles long, and about 40 miles wide. And it’s really oil rich…

Apparently, the locals are mostly Christian and the nearby Muslims of Sumatra have really been giving 'em a hard time over the last 10 years. Expansionism etc. All that sort of thing. Tribalism, blah blah blah.

The locals realise that the oil money could make 'em pretty comfy if they went independant, but the big brother Indonesians absolutely do NOT want to lose Aceh for that very reason. Same deal in Western Papua - although it’s a different natural resource over there…

So what you’ve got is a pretty rag tag central government with a mostly Muslim oriented army who wish to hold Indonesia together at any cost. In turn, they tend to back local Muslim militia’s and your pockets of Christian soveriegnty like East Timor and Aceh etc just cop it up the backside all the time.

I tell you what I did find funny though… namely, when the Jakarta army went into Aceh Province as part of their invasion they did so with a full on TV coverage - it was like a jungle version of the Iraq invasion - complete with a huge number of paratroopers landing in an airborne assault. Very spectacular pictures, but ultimately, it’s a jungle based geurilla force they’ll be fighting… in fact, it’s a mini version of North Vietnam fighting for their independance again. Unless the Jakarta forces are prepared to simply kill EVERYONE in the Province who isn’t a Muslim, this problem is not going to go away. Far better to accept reality and let the Acinese have their way. But greedy Jakarta is utterly incapable of displaying that sort of magnanimity.

And why is that? Well, not to be too politically incorrect here, but Indonesia is a terrifying hotbed of genocide at the moment. The government and the army have been hi-jacked by the righteous Islamic clerics and anyone in the country who isn’t Muslim can start praying let me tell ya. Chruch bombings, armed militias etc. All condoned and supported by the Army. It’s a shithole of a country if you ask me. An absolute shithole. Filled with righteous, religious hatred to anyone who isn’t Muslim. It makes the Middle East look like a tea party.

Don’t believe me? Get on the web and look up the Jakarta Post and read their daily editorial. Every single day, another Muslim righteous ed-op announces why and how things are wrong in Indonesia and how it can all be fixed if only they adopt Sharia Law. This is the country’s major newspaper folks. The place has been hi-jacked big time. I’m not lying here folks, but after the Bali Bombing, this editorial announced that the victims of Bali had it coming because the Island was obviously a Hindu state which permitted blatant hedonistic behaviour and such behaviour would never have been allowed under Islamic law.

No shit… that’s how bad the country of Indonesia has become.

24

So…

how long before we invade?

I mean, they even have oil!

25

Nope - Sorry, that is completely incorrect. The Acehnese are overwhelmingly Muslim. Like 99.9%. There are a few Christians in the region ( who have been persecuted at times by the locals ), but not a lot.

In fact one of the issues with Aceh, is that the locals don’t regard the rest of Indonesia as Islamic enough - Aceh’s Muslims are the most conservative in the isles. The main guerilla groups are calling for the establishment of an Islamic state, as in their mind Indonesia is far too secular. Besides which, they don’t consider themselves Indonesians, by and large.

Aceh was probably the first area in Indonesia converted to Islam and along with Malacca across the straits was a major trading power. It fell under the Dutch political sphere after 1824, but retained its formal independence until a Dutch invasion and annexation in 1873 resulted in something like a thirty-year guerilla war ( at least 1873-1903, 1908, possibly 1914, and still wasn’t quiescent when the Japanese got there in 1942 ). It was the last part of the Dutch East Indies to be seized and Aceh to the Netherlands might have been said to have been what Chechnya was to Imperial Russia - A constant bleeding sore.

Indonesia hasn’t had a much better experience - The attempt in the wake of independence to disregard the locally formed Aceh province, with its own governor, and lump it into the province of “North Sumatra”, with a central government-appointed governor, sparked the first full-scale revolt in 1953 and it hasn’t been quiet since.

  • Tamerlane
26

*…By the 1870’s Dutch economic interests in the straits of Melaka had begun a propagande campaign to undercut Aceh’s flourishing pepper trade with Penang. Aceh was styled a ‘pirate nest’ and was said to be threatening commerce in the western part of the acrchipelago. Having already brought Siak and the neighboring states of Deli, Langkat, and Asahan under their control, the Dutch began to develop what would become the Cultivation District of east Sumatra. An attack on the seat of the Acehnese sultan in 1873 was driven into the sea. The Dutch returned and took the town at great cost to both sides. In battle the sultan was forced to flee and the Acehnese sultanate was effectively destroyed.

This was a signal for the Achenese uleebelang, or regional chiefs, to rise up and defends their own districts against the invaders. When the Dutch finally suceeded in in suppressing the chiefs, the found themselves confronted with a religiously inspired guerilla war led by the village ulama or clergy. In the end the war between the Dutch and Aceh lasted nearly four decades, and at times it ties up most of the army of the Netherlands East Indies and nearly bankrupted Batavia. The war transformed Acehnese society as well. Prior to the Dutch invasion, James Siegel has noted, there was little connection between the various institutions of Achenese society: the sultanate, the chiefs, the villagers, and the religious leaders. The ulama succeeded in mobilizing the people. ‘They appealed to men to act not as villagers, but as Muslims; to the ulama this meant forgetting traditional social identities.’ Although the religious war likewise failed, it did create in Acehnese society a readiness to respond to nationalist appeals in later years.*

From chpt.2, Political Structures in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries by Carl A. Trocki, in The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia: Volume Two, Part One - From c. 1800 to the 1930’s, ed, by Nicholas Tarling ( 1992, 1999 Cambridge University Press ).

  • Tamerlane
27

I think I’m going to disagree with this as well.

While Islamic bigotry is indeed rearing its ugly head in Indonesia these days, it is hardly a dominant ideology in what is the most populous Muslim country in the world. Indonesia, like Malaysia, has long been known for its rather moderate brand of Islam comparted to some other pockets of the world - Pakistan, for example, which is far, far more conservative and in which Islamist ideology is far more widespread.

Despite the Bali bombing and the sporadic and highly local sectarian Muslim-Christian violence, it is actually folks like the militant Acehnese rebels that, to the best of my understanding, represent the minority view in Indonesia today.

Now that may change and Indonesia may well end up spiralling into a nasty, ugly hotbed of religious bigotry. But for all its many, many problems ( a corrupt and thuggish military among them ), I’d hardly say its there yet.

A quote from a 1998 analysis ( a little out of date, but still basically sound, I think ):

*Essentially, the ICMI did not succeed in its effort to undermine the popularity of the two principal Islamic organizations, namely the Nahdatul Ulama and the Muhammadiyah, and to replace them as the country’s main Islamic organization.

Today both the Nahdatul Ulama and the Muhammadiyah count around 30 million members. Despite some differences between the two noted earlier, both movements are basically moderate. They accept Westernization as a reality even if they are not at ease with it. They have a flexible approach to the interpretation of the Qur’an and believe that its texts should be interpreted in the context of specific circumstances of the prophet Muhammad’s lifetime. They believe the Shari’a alone is not sufficient for meeting the challenges of the modern world.

Their main concern is the economic and social shortcomings of the Muslim countries and how to overcome them. Moreover, there seems to be little enthusiasm for an Islamic state among Indonesia’s Islamists, despite some earlier interest in the Iranian revolution. Nor does Pakistan’s example appear to hold much appeal to them.*

From here: http://www.csis.org/html/isp0798.html#2

  • Tamerlane
28

Ok, I retract my irritation. However, it wasn’t clear that you were sarcastic, especiallt since several other people have said the same thing.

29

I am not sure the above is correct. There were persecutions in Java and Jakarta (the 1998 incident came to mind), but I haven’t heard anyhting of such nature in Sumatra.

The current main issue with Aceh is not a religious one. Though it was true in the 50’s during the Darul Islam revolt. The main contention is that the rebels feel that Aceh had never been part of Indonesia. The current government tried to appease the local population by giving Aceh some sort of autonomy and even encouraged the local government to install sharia law. (Though no Acehnese I know know exactly how to enforce it. If I’m not mistaken it only applies to muslims and it only covers minor things such as how to dress and not to eat in public during Ramadan, etc.). On Dec 9, they had a hastily arranged peace agreement that resulted in a brief cease fire, where the government promised more autonomy. But the rebels insisted on having the option to have a referendum on independence.

Some brief background:
http://www.etan.org/estafeta/01/winter/6aceh.htm

There is no link whatsoever between the rebels (GAM) and the extremist/fundamentalist muslim groups in Indonesia such as the Laskar Jihad or the Jemaah Islamiyah groups (the former was involved with sectarian fighting in Sulawesi (Celebes) and the latter was involved with the Bali bombing). The rebels actually refused the request by those groups to establish training camps in Aceh. (Most of the Indonesian fundamentalist groups are based in Java.)

A couple of things made the situation worse during Suharto era:

  1. Transmigration of Javanese from the densely populated Java to Aceh. Poor planning, lack of sensitivities and unfair treatment of the locals were the primary issues.
  2. They also feel that they don’t benefit from the oil and gas revenues. They accuse the government of exploiting the resources to benefit the central govt in Jakarta.

Things are getting murkier now. Indonesia will have an election next year. So far this is a popular war. Most Acehnese just want peace. I would guess that they don’t actually care who’ll win the war. GAM leaders have been living in exile in Sweden. They are not exactly in touch with what’s on the ground in Aceh. The rebels have done their share of killing, torturing and robbing the Acehnese as well.

30

First of all, thanks to Tamerlane who’s been very informative as usual in re. Boo Boo Foo’s general perception of Indonesia. I do read Jakarta Post website almost on a daily basis and I am totally surprised if such editorials exist. Boo Boo Foo, care to point me to where I can find the editorials?

Tamerlane is also correct that things can get really nasty in Indonesia. There are so many problems. IMHO, corruption and kleptocracy are getting worse since Suharto’s fall. It is a fledgling democracy, but all issues that were swept under the rug during Suharto era are starting to come out and it could get really ugly.

31

You may be correct on this and my impression might be off. A little digging turned up nothing solid, other than evangelical blog-style cites, one of which mentioned, in addition to some general harassment, something like “the main Protestant church in Bandar Aceh was burnt down in the early 90’s”. However given the lack of detail, it could have been anybody doing that, including the security forces, who seem to be prone to occasionally burning things. Then again, as you noted, GAM, on the ground anyway, has sometimes acted thuggishly as well.

It’s certainly true that the bulk of the Christian-Muslim violence has been in the Moluccas and certain districts in Java. Of course as even the evangelical blogs admit, there are very few Christians in Aceh, so its less of a territorial issue there.

No, probably not. It is mostly a nationalism issue. But it does seem to be a side point and I do believe GAM ( or some factions thereof ) still calls for the establishment of an “Islamic state” ( the scope of which appears unclear ). Though since the establishment of Shari’a in Aceh in 2002, that may be a declining issue.

You are right that I should have been more careful about lumping in the Aceh rebels with the Jihadists, though. Their motivations and goals are a little different.

  • Tamerlane
32

Thanks gentleman for your posts. I’ve always said that I never have a problem standing corrected when it’s necessary - and this is one of those times.

Thank goodness I started my analysis with “my understanding is” - gee what flaming I would have been deserving otherwise.

Tamerlane, as always, great to hear from you.

And bbart4? Give me a few days, but I’m hoping I can dig up that infamous editorial regarding the Bali bombing.

Certainly, a really quick endorsement of my earlier assertion would be if you were to read a typical sprinkling of the your daily “Letters to the Editor” on the Jakarta Posts’ website. Some of those are genuinely frightening in their inherent bigotry.

As for my earlier assessment of Indonesia in general? Ummm… I’m probably quite guilty of going off on a subjective wander with that analysis, but I did so in the context of the thuggishness which Jakarta uses on occasion to hold the Republic of Indonesia together.

East Timor was an obviously dreadful example. And I’m predicting that West Papua will increasingly become so. In essence, my observation is this… if there’s one lesson which the USA could have, and should have learnt about Vietnam it’s that when a small region wishes to become an autonomous independant country - just plain let it be. Trying to force it to be something against it’s will simply results in so much unnecessary bloodshed and long term hatred.

Jakarta has to recognise this with Aceh it seems to me. And it’s not good enough for Jakarta to point out (like Serbia’s nebulous logic in Bosnia nd Kosovo) that because many Javanese have migrated to Aceh that it would be some form of desertion. That’s the same sort of logic which Israel now uses to justify the continued existence of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to recognise the trouble that THAT is causing.

Ultimately, as you noted bbart, the issue is not so much a religious one as rather, a tribalism one. The Acehnese simply DON’T look upon themselves as being Indonesian and it seems as though they never have, nor do they ever wish to. It reminds me an awful lot of Croatia’s perception of herself under Yugoslavian Federation - it was only a matter of time.

So, dear readers, forgive my earlier assessment there of the religious demographics, I was wrong. But my assessment of the tribalism involved was pretty spot on.

Also, there is a very healthy consensus that Jakarta’s behaviour in the Aceh matter is far from altruistic. I might be wrong here, but I understand that the Bali bombing was an incredible kick in the guts to Indonesia because tourism is such a huge cash earner for the country. As in, a really high figure - something 20 or 30% of GNP. And it has taken a direct hit, big time.

Accordingly, the threat of losing major oil revenues from Aceh is potentially a massive loss to Jakarta’s consolidated revenue and as such, the military action is perceived as being quite a blatant effort to hold on to a strategically important cash cow.

33

Of course, the Moluccas preceded the violence in Sulawesi.
Thanks Tamerlane for pointing it out.

I think you are right. Sadly, it’s almost common practice to mobilize the mass by mentioning religion.

Boo Boo Foo said

I’m sure some letters to the editors may have some inflammatory comments, but I do doubt an editorial or op-ed would in any way condone the bombings.

You are correct. The Indonesian military (TNI) has been really brutal. I must add though that since Suharto’s fall, the military role has somewhat diminished though they still hold some considerable power.

The issue of Aceh is a bit more complicated, though the possibility of balkananization in Indonesia may come true. First of all, Aceh has never been recognized as an independent nation by the UN. Second, GAM’s treatment of the locals hasn’t (at least in the last few years) won them much support. I don’t have a cite but based on an anectodal report whereas in the past a businessman would have to bribe the Indon. govt only, lately he/she would have to bribe both.

Furthermore, it is a bit different from E. Timor in that all East Timorese wanted to be independent; this isn’t as obvious in Aceh. East Timor was annexed in 1976; it was a Portuguese colony. Aceh was annexed right after the Dutch left.

Right after that Jakarta kept breaking its promises. It did assign a “special” status to the province but it didn’t actually mean anything. There was no “autonomy” that would benefit the locals.

You are absolutely correct that it is far from altruistic. As I said, next year is an election year, the war has so far proved to be popular to the non-Acehnese. Some atrocities by the rebels haven’t helped their cause either.

IMHO, most Acehnese are a bit uncertain on what they would prefer. I think if there’s a better alternative than GAM they would surely prefer independence.

The Bali bombing was really a kick in the guts as you said (especially since it appeared that Indonesian were the ones doing it!) (And I’m sure you are aware that most Indonesians were appalled). I have a feeling that it actually made the govt. overrreact and would label everything as common terrorism.