INDONESIA AND ACEH
INDONESIA
Indonesia is demographically the fourth largest nation in the world and is the world's largest archipelago with almost 17,000 islands covering 1.9 million sq km of land mass. 2002 statistics estimated that 52.4% of the population was living on less than US$2 a day and 2003 statistics that, of an estimated population of 22 million, the income per capita was US$810 per year.
ACEH
Aceh is the northern-most province of Indonesia, located on northern tip of the island of Sumatra, covering an area of 250,000 sq km. It sits on the Straits of Malacca, one of the busiest ocean highways in the world, with around 50,000 ships passing through each year, carrying a quarter of the world's trade. Aceh is located 1,700 km from central government in Jakarta and has suffered from internal conflict for almost 30 years, facts which have left it neglected in terms of social development policy. This is visible in the poor quality of health and education throughout the region and limited access to drinking water, electricity, telephones and paved roads in much of the area.
THE PEOPLE OF ACEH
The people of Aceh are a minority, numbering 4 million and representing around 2% of the country's population and made up of numerous ethnic groups, the main ones being the Acehnese, Gayonese, Alas and Tamiang. Several of these different groups have distinct cultural traits and their own language or dialect and 98 per cent is Muslim.
DEMOGRAPHY
The largest group, the Achenese, represent about 90% of the population. Most have settled along Aceh's coastline, with smaller numbers in the inland area. The second largest group is the Gayonese (numbering 202,000), a parent group consisting of 4 sub-groups: Gayo Lot, Gayo Luwes, Gayo Lokop Serbajadi and Gayo Linge. The Gayo are descendants of the animist Kato people of north Sumatra. When Islam spread widely in Aceh hundreds of years ago, clusters of the Karo converted to Islam. In the face of increasing intimidation from other groups of non-converted Karo, the Karo Islamists moved north in waves and settled by the giant lake in central Aceh that is now the home to the district's largest town, Takengon. The area in which they settled was called Gayo - hence the group became known as the Gayonese, but have since emerged as an ethnic group in their own right, numbering 81,000. Most Gayonese can be found in the mountainous area of central Aceh: in south-east Aceh, close to the border of central Aceh, and in two new districts of Bener Meriah and Gayo Lues. Some are also scattered on the border of east and central Aceh.
LANGUAGE
In general, Gayonese speak Gayo. Depending on where they live, dialects can vary, with some vocabulary that is specific to each sub-group. The Acehnese speak Bahasa Aceh. Gayonese is spoken in central area of Aceh and mountainous areas of south-east Aceh. The Alas people speak Bahasa Alas, which is close to the Gayonese language. Deli Malay is spoken by the Tamiang in parts of east Aceh are influenced by the Minangkabau, of west Sumatra. Although most people in Aceh speak Bahasa Indonesia, many prefer to speak their own local language.
ECONOMY
The Acehnese economy traditionally has been dependent on farming, forestry, fishing and local crafts. Much of Aceh is covered by beautiful rainforest, lowland swamp and coastal mangrove forest. In the late 1990s, the World Bank and the Indonesian government estimated that 69% (3.9 million hectares) of Aceh's total land area was forest. Since then, deforestation in Aceh is estimated to have reached 270,000 hectares per year. In the mountainous areas of central Aceh, high-quality Gayo coffee grows easily and around 80% of the population grow at least some crops. Of the 263,700 villagers who live in central Aceh, 80.18% are dependent on agriculture. Coffee is a significant crop, with 26,000 tons produced each year. Most civil servants and business people also own small plantations. In 2000, the value of this crop to central government was US$10,458 million. Aceh provides 30% of Indonesia's gas exports while it remains one of the poorest provinces of Indonesia, with Jakarta reinvesting only 5% of the oil and gas profits generated by the region.
HISTORY OF ACEH
The dominant foreign influences that have shaped modern Aceh are Arabic, European, Chinese and Indian. Aceh was a major regional power with its own history distinct from Indonesia. Aceh first enters the historical record in 1292 when Marco Polo visited its coastal Samudra region and noted that the residents of this coastal area were Islamic.
Aceh has been a significant trading centre since the sixteenth century and assumed prominence under Sultan Iskandar Muda, who lived from 1581-1636 and established Aceh's golden age in the 17th century and presided over an unprecedented expansion of territory. Under his rule, the region's spice trade flourished, which was as vital to the global economy then as oil is today. Aceh expanded over much of Sumatra, parts of Malaya, and there is a widespread belief that even Singapore was once a tribute territory. Iskandar Muda was succeeded by his son, Iskandar Thani, who was in turn succeeded by 4 female Sultans, beginning a robust Acehnese tradition of female leaders and heroes. Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Aceh was an important trading centre for gold, tin, pepper, sandalwood and spices.
In the nineteenth century, Aceh's role as a major trading port dwindled. Despite being rich in natural resources, the people of Aceh became poorer. Peasant agriculture and dish farming were the main stays of the economy. As the Netherlands slowly but surely took control of what was to become the Dutch East Indies, Aceh was the last, and a very late, addition to this sprawling empire. In 1873 the Dutch attempted to conquer the province but were initially repelled by what was said to be the most organized and determined resistance they had ever encountered. The 'Aceh War' (or the 'Dutch War' as it is called in Aceh) lasted until the early 20th century, with sporadic guerrilla attacks continuing after the war had ended.
Japan's incursion into the Pacific finally removed the Dutch presence in Aceh, and Dutch troops and administrators were not to return after the end of WW11. The Acehnese, like many others in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, welcomed Japanese troops when they landed in Aceh on 12th March, 1942, because of Japan's promise to free them from the shackles of colonization. Japan ruled Aceh mich in the same way as the Dutch before them.
Aceh participated heavily in the independence war fought against the Dutch from 1945-49. Resentments soon emerged over Indonesia's failure to make Aceh a separate province and in the 1950s, the Darul Islam rebellion erupted in parts of Java and in Aceh. Darul Islam was a movement that wanted Indonesia to become an Islamic state, although it never advocated independence for Aceh or for any of its other strongholds. The Darul Islam movement disintegrated in Aceh when its leaders were co-opted into government and Aceh was given special provincial status.
From the 1960s Aceh entered into a period of relative peace until 1976 Hasan di Tiro and a small number of supporters proclaimed that Aceh was independent. Di Tiro, who has lived most of his life in exile in Sweden as a wealthy businessman, was a descendant of a famous family of Muslim clerics and the grandson of one of the most famous war leaders from Dutch times. The di Tiro family asserted its claim to Aceh's sultanate and Hasan di Tiro founded the Aceh/Sumatra National Liberation Front (ASNLF), which was later dubbed Gerakan Aceh Merdeka (GAM or Free Aceh Movement). GAM, engaging largely in a propaganda campaign finally attracted the attention of the Indonesian government and countermeasures were enacted.
In the early 1980s, GAM was for the most part forced into exile. In 1989, many of the GAM members arrived back in Aceh, posing a military threat and Indonesia declared martial law, which temporarily stemmed the self-determination movement.