Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Jakarta (Fides Service) - As tension rises in the Indonesian province of Aceh, in the far north of the island of Sumatra, Father Ferdinando Severi OFM Conv. Franciscan Friar and parish priest of the church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Banda Aceh the only parish in the province, calls on the small community of Catholics not to flee but to stay in Ache and to pray and work for peace. May 12 is the central government’s deadline for local rebels to give up their arms, otherwise there will be an army attack with 50,000 men ready for combat.
Aceh province is one of areas which has been a problem for the Indonesian province. In this zone the secessionist Free Aceh Movement with 3,000 militia preaches independence from Jakarta in the name of the creation of a theocratic Muslim state. Guerrilla warfare is active in Ache since 1976 and since then peace talks have alternated with moments of tension and fighting between rebels and army.
Recently the Jakarta government granted the status of special autonomy to the province of Aceh letting Sharia Muslim law become the local civil law, signing in December 2002 a cease-fire agreement. But this did not appease the rebels, which has re-launched a request for a referendum for independence as in East Timor. Indonesian president Megawati Sukarnoputri refuses to question Indonesia’s sovereignty and has decided to change strategy, showing an iron fist to the rebels and setting a deadline for disarmament.
A few days before the deadline tension has increased and people have started leaving Aceh. Out of a population of 4.1 million, mostly Muslims, some 300 or 400 Catholics have already fled the area, finding it difficult to live in a region with Sharia law.
In this situation Father Severi, on mission in Aceh for ten years, has called on the government to have more patience with the rebels. “Most of the people in Aceh are not demanding independence, only justice and security,» he says. “A military attack would not solve the problem” it would only harm civilians. “People are so frightened by the rebels and the army that they hardly dare lave the house”.
In Aceh between 1989-1999 violence and fighting put the civilian population on its knees. Today people remember those difficult years and they are fleeing. Hundreds of Catholics have left their homes heading towards southern Sumatra and the number of pupils at Catholic schools has dropped.
Father Severi encourages local Catholics not to be pessimistic to bear witness to faith and hope in God. “We must do our best to face the situation with calm, praying a working together for peace”. Father Severi says that although Aceh is a Muslim province, the Catholic Church has not rouble in carrying on its normal pastoral activity and it has good relations with the local Muslim leaders. PA (Fides Service 6/5/2003 EM lines 40 Words: 493)
