Aceh: History, Politics and Culture

15. Reading the tsunami and the Helsinki Accord: ”Letters to the Editor” of Serambi Indonesia, Banda Aceh

15 Reading the tsunami and the helsinki accoRd ”letters to the editor” of Serambi Indonesia, Banda aceh Arndt Graf1 Nearly eight months after the catastrophic tsunami of 26 December 2004, the Helsinki peace accord between the Indonesian government and Gerakan Aceh Merdeka (GAM) was signed on 15 August 2005. Underlying both events (natural and political) is the tragic loss of human life coupled with the hope for a peaceful and prosperous future for Aceh. My question in this chapter is how experiences of these life-changing events are addressed and articulated in Acehnese public opinion. As a case study, I analyse the online edition of the “letters to the editor” column “Droe Keu Droe” (“From heart to heart”)2 of Banda Aceh’s leading newspaper Serambi Indonesia, from the month of August 2005.3 This online edition is of particular significance during this politically decisive month as it represents an important link to the debates at home for all those Acehnese living abroad, be they supporters of GAM or not. As Hogan (2006, p. 63) has pointed out, the genre of “letters to the editor” (henceforth: LEs) deserves attention not so much because it accurately represents “people’s voice” (vox populi), as certain earlier research suggests (for example, Brown 1976). Published LEs are typically shortened by the journal’s redaction, which can considerably alter the letter’s intended message and tone. In addition, contributed letters must undergo a selection process carried out by the journalists in charge. Thus, such letters generally represent, to a certain 288 Arndt Graf extent, the agenda of the publishing journal, which is informed by its own in-house as well as more general power relations. At the same time, LEs are generally written by laymen who often try to advance their own personal interests in order to influence public opinion. In this sense, LEs can be seen as interesting opinion pieces that render visible some of the (vested) interests of the micro level of civil society. This proves even more relevant in terms of the highly contentious political situation in Aceh in which the LEs of Serambi Indonesia constitute one of the very rare opportunities for individual members of society to gain access to wider public attention. Such letters, then, can be seen as a forum for promoting, disseminating and debating values and issues within officially tolerated limits. At the same time, LEs are quite relevant at the grassroots level of Acehnese public opinion — possibly, but not necessarily, linked to greater debates and discourses otherwise dominated by powerful institutions such as the state, the (post) guerrilla movement, or religious elites. In terms of research methodology of this case study, it is important to note here that in August 2005 the terrible experience of the tsunami still played a nearly ubiquitous role in Acehnese public opinion. For example, tsunami victims who lost members of their families during the catastrophe write a number of LEs in the sample. Their trauma sets central ethical parameters for my research questions and the degree of criticality with which I analyse the texts generated by these letter writers. I will therefore focus on a more descriptive synthesis of the textual strategies and issues as these are put forward and addressed by the letter writers themselves (hereafter contributors). Regional oRigins of the letteR wRiteRs In general, LEs constitute a textual genre through which individual interests and agendas are put forward. The purpose is often to mobilize public opinion for a particular cause and/or to exert pressure on other parties with vested interests in the issue. In order to render such an intervention in public discourse acceptable to a wider audience, the contributor often embeds his concerns within references to cultural values, convictions, and other social and cultural tropes commonly held among his target audience. In this light, it is important that in many LEs of Serambi Indonesia, the contributor introduces himself or herself explicitly as being a member of a particular local or regional community (warga masyarakat). As such, the letter therefore can be read not only as an individual’s voice, but also often as representative of a larger interpretive community. The newspaper Serambi Indonesia enhances this regional identification in at least two ways. Firstly, LEs Reading the Tsunami and the Helsinki Accord 289 are published in a column with the Acehnese name Droe keu droe. As Acehnese remains the dominant language of the province as opposed to...