CULTURE

Repression and resistance in Aceh

Indonesia’s secret war in Aceh

By Jon Lamb

Feb. 2 -- The social and political impact of the tsunami tragedy in Aceh is becoming clearer as the process of aid delivery and reconstruction slowly gathers momentum. Reports from Acehnese and Indonesian human-rights, pro-democracy and aid organizations indicate that the Indonesian military (TNI) is living up to its reputation as a thoroughly corrupt and oppressive apparatus.

The disaster follows decades of intense military repression, during which tens of thousands were killed, disappeared or unjustly imprisoned. The TNI has devoted at least half of its 40,000 troops presently based in Aceh to armed military operations, ostensibly against the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

The announcement by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in November that the state of civil emergency in Aceh would be extended by six months came as no surprise to many. In November and December the number of TNI attacks increased considerably as it sought to crush the network of GAM guerrilla bases in remote and isolated parts of Aceh.

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Two parties, same bosses

Dime's worth of difference: Beyond the lesser of two evils

By Mark Yu

Many progressives in the United States, including some who jumped onto the "Anybody But Bush" bandwagon during the recent election, realize that the Democratic Party does not stand for the cause of peace, jobs, and justice. Often, however, this understanding is accompanied by a faint hope that, at some grave and climactic moment, the Democratic Party leadership will discover its long lost "backbone" and finally resist the steady rightward march in American politics.

If only the Democrats would return to their alleged historical roots and champion the class interests of workers and oppressed people, who they supposedly represent, there would no longer be any problems with the two-party system. Ralph Nader and all of his awful, uncompromising supporters would at last be pulled into the Big Blue Tent or driven into retirement. This argument, put forth by liberal critics of the Democratic Party, receives a powerful rebuttal in the book Dime's Worth of Difference. Compiled by Counterpunch editors Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair, the collection of essays offers a different explanation for the apparent sheeplike behavior of the Democrats.

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