ABSTRACT

At the start of Megawati Sukarnoputri’s presidency, there were more Indonesian security forces on the ground in Aceh than at any time since the New Order’s collapse. There were also more human rights violations against the civilian population, with an average of two to three fatalities per day.27 In addition to the abuses committed by soldiers and police officers, GAM acted violently against non-Acehnese transmigrants, suspected spies and government officials. Within Aceh’s polarized political landscape, the main arena for airing grievances was the battlefield. The referendum movement and humanitarian NGOs that had briefly flourished after the fall of Suharto had been forced underground, and many of their leaders arrested, kidnapped or summarily executed (Miller 2005: 10).