Chapter Thirteen Yazid I

  Aceh is a province in the westernmost part of Indonesia, with an area of 57,300 square kilometers and a population of approximately 4 million people, 90% of whom are Muslim.

  In 1959, the central government of Indonesia issued a decree declaring Aceh as a special territory with wide-ranging autonomy in matters of religion, tradition and education, but this has never been fully implemented.

  Aceh is rich in natural resources, including oil and natural gas; minerals such as clay, iron sand, and stone; rubber and timber.

  However, the rich resources have not brought wealth to local people, and the lives of local residents have been in a state of poverty for a long time.

  On May 27, 1955, the Free Aceh Movement announced the establishment of its military organization - the National Army of Aceh.

  They also put forward the notion of an Acehnese nation, emphasizing that the Acehnese and Javanese are different races, in an attempt to serve as a basis for the Aceh independence movement.

  Aceh also declared independence in 1953, following the war, as an Islamic state, leading to four years of conflict with troops sent by Sukarno.

  Both sides eventually held negotiations, resulting in Aceh achieving peace in the early 1960s.

  However, after Aceh was incorporated into the map of Indonesia, there were still contradictions with Indonesia, mainly in two aspects: one is the issue of sharing natural resource tax revenue, and the other is the implementation of Sharia law.

  In this situation, Aceh gradually brewed a tendency to separate.

  In 1955, the Free Aceh Movement was formally established and hostilities broke out again in Aceh.

  If the Acehnese are willing to accept a national referendum that deletes the option of independence, then Aceh may obtain autonomy in security, finance and some judicial affairs in addition to existing religious and educational affairs, which might encourage Indonesia to move gradually towards federalism.

  However, there are significant differences of opinion among Indonesia's political elite regarding federalism, and the Indonesian authorities must also consider what the Indonesian military can tolerate.

  If Indonesia's political system changes to a federal one, and the central government of Indonesia still cannot create stability, then once there is an independence movement in various parts of Indonesia, the Indonesian military will have an excuse to send troops to suppress it, and at that time the entire archipelago of Indonesia will fall into turmoil.

  At the same time, if Acehnese accept high autonomy, armed forces advocating independence under a federal system must also recognize central government organizations stationed in various places to maintain security, and the Free Aceh Movement must also lay down their arms.

  Regarding the Aceh issue, the founder of the Free Aceh Movement, Hasan di Tiro, initially advocated for Indonesia to adopt a federal system, but gradually shifted towards seeking independence for Aceh and resorting to armed struggle.

  The development and change of this political proposition is a microcosm of the evolution of the nature of the entire Aceh separatist movement, and it is also an important way to understand the problem of Acehnese separatism.

  In the 1950s, Hassan-Diab believed that due to historical reasons, various ethnic groups in Indonesia were at different levels in Indonesia's political landscape, with the Javanese having long held an advantage in politics and economy.

  The unitary system implemented after the formation of the Republic of Indonesia further strengthened this trend, protecting Javanese interests at the expense of other ethnic groups.

  To solve this problem, Indonesia should implement a federal system, creating a balance where the Javanese share political power with other ethnic groups while they allow the former to share their economic resources, achieving equality and common development among all ethnic groups.

  However, with Sukarno's guided democracy replacing parliamentary democracy, especially after Suharto established the New Order regime, state power became increasingly centralized in the central government.

  Aceh's special autonomous status is in name only, with a stagnant economy and slow social development.

  Facing this encounter, Hassan-Di Tiro realized that implementing federalism in Indonesia was no longer feasible, his thoughts began to change, clearly advocating for Aceh's independence, believing it was the only choice for the outer islands.

  In summary, Hassan al-Din's separatist ideas mainly include the following aspects.

  Firstly, emphasize the historical honor and legitimacy of establishing an independent state for the Acehnese people.

  Hasan di Tiro repeatedly pointed out that when the Netherlands declared war on Aceh in 1873, Aceh was already an independent nation with its own government and sovereignty over the whole of Sumatra widely and formally recognized as belonging to Aceh.

  In other words, the Aceh War was a war between two countries - the Netherlands and the Kingdom of Aceh. Based on this history, after World War II, all of Sumatra should have been returned to Acehnese rule and automatically regained independence.

  In addition, Hassan di Tiro in his writings extensively described the unyielding struggle of the Acehnese people against the Dutch, pointing out that the Acehnese nation considers independence to be most important and that today's Acehnese should also inherit this national tradition and fight for their own independence.

  Secondly, denying the legitimacy of the Republic of Indonesia.

  Hassan-Djorghi believes that, historically, Indonesia is not a natural geographic entity. Although the islands were once ruled by the same colonial power, there has been no historical connection between Java and the outer islands, and the various parts lack a common sense of destiny.

  Moreover, after World War II, Dutch colonizers handed over Indonesia to Javanese rulers without the consent of other regions and ethnic groups.

  Such a transfer is illegal under international law and relevant UN charters, and the established Republic of Indonesia is also illegal.

  Moreover, under the name of the Republic of Indonesia, the Javanese exercised a new colonial domination over other ethnic groups.

  In the political sphere, Javanese people control Indonesian politics and a small number of non-Javanese in government are merely propaganda tools to create an illusion that Outer Islanders have not been completely disenfranchised from administrative institutions.

  In economic terms, under the so-called development principle, the exploitation of Aceh's natural resources only served the interests of the Javanese. The Javanese used the military to maintain control over the outer islands and ensured long-term control over Aceh through a large influx of new Javanese migrants.

  So, if the Acehnese are said to be one of the members of this nation, they have not received fair treatment. The rule of the Javanese is illegal, a new colonialism that is destroying the political, social and cultural traditions of Aceh.

  Thirdly, advocating for Aceh's separation from Javanese colonial rule and establishing an independent state.

  Based on the long history of Aceh as an independent state and the illegitimacy of the Republic of Indonesia, Hasan di Tiro pointed out that all Acehnese should strive for independence to ensure the existence of Aceh-Sumatra as an independent nation.

  Aceh - Sumatra authority not only includes Acehnese people, but also all Sumatrans who want Sumatra to be Sumatran and reject Javanese colonial rule on the island of Sumatra.

  His plan was to establish a Swiss-type free federation where every nation would have its own government, equal in status to Aceh and able to choose its own form of government.

  Regarding the nature of the movement, Hassan di Tiro extensively elaborated on the religious nature of the movement in his publicly published diary "The Price of Freedom", believing that Aceh's government and Islam are inseparable, and the struggle for independence is a war for Allah and Rasul.

  However, from the writing style of the entire work, it can be seen that some content was added later, just a later excuse.

  The reason for the first failure of the Free Aceh Movement in 1953 was that Hasan di Tiro did not initially want to openly advocate for the establishment of an Islamic state, with the aim of gaining more support from Western countries, but as a result lost the support of the local people of Aceh.

  But it is certain that from then on, Hasan di Tiro explicitly proposed the establishment of an independent Islamic state of Aceh.

  There are actually many loopholes in Hassan Diab's political claims.

  Firstly, Aceh - Medan's perspective has a fundamental error.

  Hasan-Diri's concept of the Acehnese realm refers more to the situation during the reign of Sultan Iskandar Muda in early 17th century Sumatra.

  In fact, by the mid-18th century when the Dutch invaded, the kingdom of Aceh's rule had shrunk to the eastern coastal lowlands of Sumatra, not the entire island.

  Moreover, the cruelty of Aceh's expansion was no less than that of Javanese-controlled Indonesia. Therefore, Hasan di Tiro claimed that Acehnese rule over Sumatra was just as unjust as the transfer of Sumatra by the Dutch to Indonesian people after 1949.

  Secondly, on the issue of legitimacy of the Republic of Indonesia, Hassan-Di Tiro could not provide a reasonable explanation for the declaration made by the Ulema in Aceh in October 1945 which explicitly brought Aceh into the Indonesian struggle for independence.

  His simple explanation for the desire of non-Javanese to be part of a new nation was that they lacked political consciousness and were thus deceived by Javanese colonizers.

  The modern national concept of developing countries was mostly formed in the process of anti-colonial movement, it is undeniable that Aceh is an independent nation, but not every nation must necessarily establish an independent state.

  Historically, the concept of a unified Indonesian nation emerged in the 1920s during the Indonesian National Revolution. The Acehnese participated in this movement and identified with the modern Indonesian national and state ideology, especially during the Indonesian Republic's war against the Dutch in the 1940s when the Acehnese gave strong support to the central government.

  It was therefore natural that Aceh became part of the newly born Republic. In the early years of nationhood, the region of Aceh voluntarily accepted central leadership and was not, as Hasan di Tiro claimed, passively handed over by the old Dutch colonialists to the new Javanese colonizers.

  The Free Aceh Movement has been demanding the establishment of an independent Islamic state in Aceh since its inception, citing unequal distribution of resources and religious and cultural differences, and has been engaged in armed conflicts with government troops.

  However, for a long time, the Indonesian government has consistently opposed Aceh independence and carried out military strikes against its armed forces.