In 2005, a 30-year independence campaign in the Indonesian province of Aceh came to an end.
Even now, it's a rare example of a secessionist dispute that ended peacefully with separatist forces
agreeing to accept full reintegration into the parent state.
In this video, I'm going to look at the Aceh conflict and how it was resolved.
I'll show that while peace efforts had gone on for many years,
the dispute wasn't in fact settled by skilled diplomacy alone.
Instead, an entirely unexpected development made the continuation of the conflict all but impossible.
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Hello. My name is James Ker-Lindsay.
Welcome to Independent Thinking.
A channel dedicated to International Relations, statehood, independence and the origins of countries.
All around the world, there are territories pursuing independence.
While some of these do so through peaceful and democratic means, in many others the
campaign for statehood takes place against a backdrop of violence and armed conflict.
In these cases, the outlook for those pursuing independence is far from positive.
As I've noted in many videos, states don't like to lose territory
and the international community doesn't like to see countries break apart
It is therefore rare for territories pursuing independence to be granted statehood
- especially if it takes place through armed insurgency.
Of course, just occasionally it will happen.
A 'parent state' may accept the situation and agree to independence.
Obvious cases from the past 30 years include Eritrea and South Sudan,
which became independent in 1993 and 2011 respectively.
Alternatively, a territory may be able to carve out an existence as a so-called de facto state
- a country in practice but largely unrecognized and often marginalized on the world stage.
Obvious examples include Abkhazia, Northern Cyprus and Nagorno-Karabakh.
At the other end of the spectrum, a separatist dispute may end in military defeat
and the forcible reintegration by the parent state.
Examples of this include the efforts of the Tamil Tigers to form an independent homeland in Sri Lanka,
which came to an end in 2009, and the so-called Republic of Serb Krajina,
which was overrun by Croatian forces in the summer of 1995.
Occasionally, however, a peace agreement will be reached that sees a separatist group accept
reintegration back into the state it has tried to break away from.
This could be for a number of reasons.
Sometimes, it will be brokered as an alternative to the possibility of eventual military defeat.
At other times, the conflict may have reached a stalemate.
A victory isn't possible, but neither is defeat.
And then, just sometimes, a conflict may end because something truly extraordinary happens that completely
upends the whole situation and changes the whole dynamics of the dispute.
One of the best, and most interesting, examples of this was Aceh, in Indonesia.
So, what was the conflict and how was it resolved?
Aceh lies at the far western tip of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
Approximately 58,000 square kilometers, or 22,500 square miles,
it's about the same size as the US states of Georgia or Illinois.
Its population currently stands at about 5.3 million.
Aceh first came to prominence in the 16th century.
Lying at a strategic point linking the trade routes of Southeast Asia with India and the Middle East,
it was an early regional convert to Islam.
As a result the Sultanate of Aceh became the spearhead of Muslim expansion
across what is now Indonesia and Malaysia.
Interestingly, this religious element actually saw it become a protectorate of the distant Ottoman Empire
after the latter sent troops to the Sultanate to help fight Portuguese trade domination in the region.
By the start of the 19th century, the European powers were increasingly
exerting their influence in Southeast Asia.
In 1824, Aceh, now a centre of the world pepper trade, was placed under British protection
as part of a treaty with the Netherlands.
However, in 1871, Britain gave up its role and allowed the Dutch to have a free hand over the area.
Two years later, in 1873, the Dutch began a military campaign to assert full control over Aceh.
This campaign, the Aceh War, lasted until 1904,
when the region was finally incorporated into the Dutch East Indies.
In May 1940, the Netherlands fell to Nazi Germany and Japan invaded and occupied the Dutch East Indies.
On the 17 August 1945, as Japan retreated, nationalist forces proclaimed independence for Indonesia.
Although the Netherlands tried to reassert control over the country,
it was soon forced to accept that its colonial rule was at an end.
On 27 December 1949, it recognized the Republic of the United States of Indonesia.
And just under a year later, on 28 September 1950, and following amendments to the country's name,
the Republic of Indonesia joined the UN as the organization's 60th member.
Although, Aceh was initially promised self-rule at the time of Independence,
it was instead incorporated into another province.
As a result, a rebellion broke out in 1953.
This lasted until 1959, when Aceh again became a separate province in its own right
and was given control over a number of areas, including culture and religion.
Despite this, tensions grew in the years that followed.
Differences centred on a range of issues, including Aceh's historical independence,
its more conservative religious outlook, and concerns about the growing presence of ethnic Javanese
- the largest of Indonesia's hundreds of ethno-linguistic groups.
On top of this, resentment developed over the extent of the central government's control over the province
and the distribution of income from the province's natural resources,
including oil and natural gas.
In December 1976, the Free Aceh Movement, better known by its Indonesian and Achenese acronym GAM
launched an armed uprising to end Indonesian rule and establish an independent state.
In response, Indonesia responded with a major counterinsurgency campaign
and by the end of the decade it looked as if the attempt to break away was over.
However, a decade later GAM resurfaced and fighting resumed.
Soon afterwards, Aceh was placed under de facto military rule.
Over the course of the 1990s, the insurgency continued - albeit with apparently limited wider support.
This changed in 1999, following the Indonesian Government's decision to let East Timor,
which lay at the other end of the country, hold a referendum on independence
This now led to greater and more widespread calls for Acehnese secession.
Once again, the government launched a major crackdown.
But, as so often happens in such cases, this only served heighten pro-independence sentiment.
Despite the tough response on the ground, behind the scenes the government of Indonesia
now agreed to hold talks with GAM.
With external support, the two sides began negotiations.
And, by the end of 2002, it looked like they'd reached an agreement.
Both sides would scale back their military activities and Aceh would be given greater self-rule.
However, in the months that followed, the agreement ran into trouble as the sides accused each other
of breaking the terms of the deal.
In May 2003, following a meeting in Tokyo, the talks broke down completely.
At this point, the Indonesian Government decided to abandon negotiations and pursue a military solution.
Within days, it had ordered an all-out offensive to end the insurgency.
In the year that followed, GAM suffered significant losses and it increasingly looked as if
the military campaign might well be on course for victory.
Ultimately, though, another factor would now end the conflict.
On 26 December 2004, a massive earthquake - the third largest ever recorded - struck just off the coast of Aceh.
The death toll across the entire Indian Ocean was huge.
Estimates suggest that up to a quarter of a million people lost their lives.
As one would expect, Aceh was struck particularly hard.
It's estimated that anywhere up to 170,000 Acehnese died in the disaster and half a million became homeless.
Under these circumstances, the armed quest for independence was unsustainable.
Having already lost up to half its forces during the military crackdown,
and given the devastation caused by the earthquake, GAM saw no choice but to enter new talks.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Government also appeared to see the chance to end a long-standing insurgency.
In early 2005, a new peace initiative was launched under the auspices of Martti Ahtisaari,
the former president of Finland.
On 15 August 2005, after months of talks, the Government of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement
signed a peace agreement.
At the centre of the deal was a decision to end the calls for independence.
As the Memorandum of Understanding between the Indonesian Government and GAM stated:
"The parties commit themselves to creating conditions within which the government of the Acehnese people
can be manifested through a fair and democratic process within the unitary state and constitution
of the Republic of Indonesia."
In return, Aceh was now given extensive self-government,
including significant control over economic affairs.
It also received an undertaking that the Indonesian Government would consult
on any matters directly affecting the province.
On top of this, GAM agreed to give up its arms and an amnesty was agreed for its fighters.
Additionally, and to ensure proper implementation of the deal, the agreement would be monitored
by the European Union and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
After 30 years of conflict, the campaign for Acehnese independence was at an end.
Very occasionally, secessionist movement have won their independence.
In other cases, they've secured a long-term stalemate and the creation of a de facto state.
More often than not, the conflict is only ended by force of arms.
Aceh is a particularly unusual example of an armed separatist dispute
that has been brought to an end by peaceful means with a decision to keep the territory in question
within the parent state.
So, what made Aceh stand out?
Well it would be nice to say that the conflict was ripe for settlement and that the situation
was carefully managed by external peacemakers.
In truth, it seems that the Indonesian Government had in fact settled on a military end to the conflict.
And by all accounts it looked like its efforts were succeeding.
Of course, it's impossible to say whether they would have eventually brought an end to the insurgency.
And, even if it had, then there was always a chance of yet another return to conflict
- or at least a resurgence of calls for independence.
Indeed, even with the peace deal, renewed calls for statehood in the future can't be entirely ruled out.
Instead, the whole situation was fundamentally changed by one of the worst natural disasters in modern history.
This not only made fighting the insurgency politically, economically and reputationally costly for all sides
at a time of such huge human suffering,
it meant that the full resources of the Indonesian state were now needed for recovery.
On top of this, and to be blunt, it also gave a face-saving way for both sides to end the conflict.
GAM could end the insurgency and Indonesia could be seen to offer extensive autonomy.
So, while the conflict in Aceh represents a welcome and widely cited example of a negotiated settlement
to a long-standing armed secessionist conflict,
it's also important to recognize the very special circumstances that brought it about.
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