Acehnese women, part of GAM, fighting for their freedom from Indonesian control

By Kazi Mahmood, IOL Correspondent

KUALA LUMPUR, October 27 (IslamOnline.net) – Aceh, or the Veranda of Makkah, received the first day of Ramadan Monday, October 27, under martial law, adding to the hardships of Muslims there.

The war-torn Aceh - where locals sacrifice cows - a long-held tradition called “meaugang” - before the start of the Ramadan and distribute it among families, martial law has been in force since May 19.

"It is our tradition to sacrifice a cow two days before Ramadan and gather with our family," one Acehnese was quoted by Antara news agency as saying.

The predominantly Muslim province, nicknamed the Veranda of Makkah, has been under martial law since May 19. War against the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) is still going on despite the start of fasting.

The government and the GAM have not decided on a cease-fire deal during the holy month, which is not what the populace expected from the warring factions since it will bring more chaos to the Muslims in the province.

Aceh is the only Indonesian province that applies Islamic law and has a special autonomy status that allows it to keep 75 percent of all resources extracted by the government.

However, the GAM and the most powerful Non-Government Organizations (NGO’s) in the province accuse the authorities of not keeping their promises.

While war goes on in the GAM held areas, which are dense forest and rough terrain areas hard to penetrate for Indonesian troops, the beginning of this fasting month will be a tough one for those living under government troops.

The so-called liberators of the Acehnese people from the GAM will be celebrating their first ever Ramadan under martial law, which was imposed to crush the separatist movement.

They are, however, not alone in their pledge for the pulling out of the troops from their province.

A majority of the Acehnese is not in favor of Indonesia’s occupation of the territory and they are joined by lawyers, politicians and peace activists who urged the Indonesian government in Jakarta to end the military offensive and to take the military out of the province.

Despite this, the Indonesian Military (TNI) announced last week it had established eight more security posts in Aceh Jaya regency, which was once a GAM stronghold.

Aceh martial administrator Maj. Gen. Endang Suwarya said the extra posts brought the total in the regency to 40, according to the Jakarta Post.

On Sunday evening, people, especially in Banda Aceh – the capital city of Aceh - swarmed traditional markets to buy staple food and other necessities for the beginning of the fasting month.

The Acehnese also like to "purify" themselves in the sea or a river before they start fasting.

On the eve of Ramadan, the Acehnese people conducted their first dusk Tarawih prayer in local mosques throughout the country without any major military incidents noted.