Halal elections for Aceh

When Aceh’s Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed in Helsinki in 2005, it was intended to bring peace to Aceh. This was not just intended to end to the fighting between the Free Aceh Movement and the Government of Indonesia, but to bring peace for all Acehnese in all circumstances, based on rebuilding their lives through the principle of self-government.
The MOU stated that the people of Aceh would be able to determine their own circumstances through free and fair elections. It was never the intention of the 2005 peace agreement to exchange one form of violence and intimidation, by the state, for another, by some Acehnese themselves.
That Aceh’s 2012 elections were marred by violence and intimidation proved the old adage that, in post-conflict settings, former military leaders who may have been good at war often have difficulty understanding how to work with peace. Used to giving commands, former military leaders often fail to respect the views of people who do not agree with them.
For these reasons, former military leaders rarely make the transition to being good civilian politicians.
The MOU was intended to ensure that Aceh’s political leaders listened to the wishes of the people and to reflect those wishes in good policies. It was not intended to construct a top-down command structures, telling people who to vote for and threatening violence if orders are not obeyed.
Next February, the people of Aceh will again go to elections to choose their new governor, as well as sub-district and municipal positions. As a sense of expectation builds about the elections, so too does a sense of concern, that the 2017 elections will repeat the violence and intimidation of the elections of 2012.
Having gone through three decades of warfare and then achieved peace, for the people of Aceh to again feel the fear and insecurity is a betrayal of the MOU. The peace agreement signed between the Free Aceh Movement and the government of the republic of Indonesia in 2005 was intended to end all violence and intimidation in Aceh; this was a commitment by GAM as well as by the Indonesian government.
The 2005 peace agreement was based on the idea that political issues should be resolved through the ballot box and through the ballot box only. To ensure that the people of Aceh would be able to address issues of concern to them, the peace agreement gave the people of Aceh their own political parties.
There was a moment during the peace process that the Indonesian government offered GAM political control of Aceh in exchange for cooperation. The GAM negotiating team rejected that offer, arguing instead that the people of Aceh should have the freedom to choose their representatives democratically.
Implicit in GAM’s rejection of simply taking power and instead giving political power to the people of Aceh was the central Islamic tenet of peace through justice. The 2012 elections in Aceh contradicted this principle and the promise of peace given to the people of Aceh. The 2017 elections cannot be allowed to do the same.
In 2005, the people of Aceh were given the opportunity to make wise decisions through a genuinely open, representative and accountable political process, in which they could express their political opinions as an honest representation of their hopes and desires.
There are, of course, times when setting peace to one side is allowed. One’s struggle, to be a better person, for justice, is allowed. However, there is not and cannot be any justification for violence or threats of violence in a time of peace and when there is a common commitment by the community to justice.
The people of Aceh are united as a community; one part of that community cannot be allowed to impose its will on another part. To allow such is to betray the goals and aspirations of the 2005 MOU.
In Aceh, now, for there to be justice, political leaders must listen to the voice of the people, without the influence of fear or violence. Justice means that the people of Aceh must be allowed to choose, without fear of intimidation or violence.
For the people of Aceh to be given this genuine political choice, all parties to the 2017 elections must now commit to peace. The 2017 elections must reflect Islam’s commitment to being an abode of peace and goodness; to be halal.
This means the 2017 elections must reject violence. Any attempt to obtain political benefit through support for or allowing threats or acts of violence in a place of peace is, and must be seen by all Acehnese, to be haram.
Peace be upon the people of Aceh. Peace be upon the act of choosing Aceh’s leaders.