ABSTRACT
This chapter explores post-conflict reconstruction in a context that is also one of post-tsunami recovery in Aceh, the Indonesian province at the northern end of Sumatra that was the highly publicized scene of the 2004 Indian Ocean Basin tsunami. It argues that an abundance of aid and media attention can have adverse affects, especially when it distinguishes between a worthy humanitarian crisis, the tsunami, and a less deserving one, the impact of the conflict on civilians and post-conflict demobilization. Well-paid jobs in the Indonesian government organizations established to oversee reconstruction and rehabilitation (BRR) and reintegration (BRA) were given to a select number of former GAM commanders. At the time the tsunami struck, the province of Aceh was still under a state of martial law due to open armed conflict between the troops of the Indonesian Government (GoI) and the separatist rebel Free Aceh Movement (GAM). While peace in Aceh seems to be lasting, post-conflict relations are nonetheless fragile.
