In Aceh, Indonesia Stumbles

Aceh, an oil- and gas-rich region on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra, poses the most serious separatist challenge to Indonesia's new democracy. For more than twenty-five years the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has clashed with Indonesian security forces determined to retain the region's mineral wealth. Young women, many unmarried (but known locally as Inong Bale, or "widows"), have become the reserve force and eyes and ears of the GAM. The Acehnese have also mobilized civil disobedience and President Wahid has denounced police attacks on peaceful protesters. The Acehnese in the streets call for a referendum on independence, something the government is trying to avoid at all costs. The government's handling of the crisis in Aceh will be a test of whether it can consolidate democracy in Indonesia's diverse society.

Above: On a Muslim holiday, women gather at a local mosque in Banda Aceh.

Above: An older woman stands among the charred remains of her home in Desa Juli. The village was set ablaze twice in fourteen months by members of the Indonesian military. The town is a suspected enclave for members of the Free Aceh Movement. Below: Cut Nur Asyikin (left), the "Lion of Aceh," and Nur Mashita (right) lead a rally in favor of a referendum on Acehnese independence in November of 2000. Both support the GAM.

Above: In the remote village of Aceh Basar, an Inong Bale (widow) receives combat training with the GAM.

Above: Muhammad Nazar, co-leader of Center for Information on a Referendum for Aceh (SIRA), was arrested in November of 2000. Here, he awaits trial; Nazar was later sentenced to ten months imprisonment. He was the first political prisoner under President Wahid's government. Below: A pro-referendum protester demonstrates outside of the trial of Muhammad Nazar.

Jacqueline Koch is currently signed with FPG International and is working on a book to be published in 2002. From September to December 2000 she traveled in Aceh under the auspices of a Pew Fellowship in International Journalism.

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