The Msian who helped bring peace to Aceh
When the Acehnese rebels signed the Aug 15 peace accord with the Indonesian government, ending three decades of war, one man should have been at the momentous event in Helsinki, Finland - Malaysias Prof P Ramasamy. Considered a close friend by many top GAM (Free Aceh Movement) leaders, Ramasamy was often consulted for his views in the years leading to the peace negotiations.
The academic was at the first rounds of the talks in January as an observer.
And according to him, this resulted in his controversial sacking by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia last
month.
Apparently Indonesia protested to Wisma Putra (Malaysias Foreign Ministry) about that. Otherwise I dont see why Malaysia should be concerned about it. Im not the official advisor of GAM, he told malaysiakini in a recent interview.
Of course, GAM came to see me and a lot of other people also came for advice. That did not mean I was their official advisor.
Elsewhere, Ramasamys contribution to bringing peace to Aceh would have been recognised.
Some people came to me and said, Prof, in some countries you could have been given an award, he said.
I contributed in some meaningful ways (to the peace process). They have a peace agreement now. Malaysia should be happy. At least, we can send home 40,000 Acehnese who are here.
Instead, his academic contract was abruptly terminated early last month.
Since Ramasamy retired at the age of 56 in March, he was given an unusual month-to-month contract to continue
lecturing at the university until 2007.
Ramasamy spent his final day at UKM last Thursday. The shock termination had left many of his students in the lurch, including 12 PhD students who were under his supervision.
Labour rights champion
The political science professor, who had been with the university for a quarter of a century, started out as a campaigner for labour rights. He dedicated his time, when not teaching, to championing the rights of workers in plantations and the Felda scheme.
It was later that he developed an interest in the national liberation struggles around the world, especially the Tamil Tigers who are fighting for independence in northeast Sri Lanka.
In the course of his research, he had visited Tigers occupied territories in the northeast and even met with their legendary and shadowy leader, Velupillai Prabakaran. Until last week, a photo of Ramasamy and Prabakaran sat on his desk in the professors office at UKMs Centre for History, Political Science and Strategic Studies.
Prabakaran was so impressed with Ramasamy that he was the only non-Sri Lankan appointed to sit in the rebels Constitutional Affairs Committee to help draft a proposal for an interim administration in Sri Lanka's northeast in 2003.
Not surprisingly, Ramasamy is considered a world-renowned expert on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
His interest in another national liberation movement, this time closer to home - the independence struggle of the Acehnese - came much later.
There were number of Acehnese students at the university who worked with me, and I talked to them, listened to them. I was very sympathetic with their cause.
He subsequently helped to organise seminars for
the students who had fled Aceh when martial law was imposed by Jakarta in 2002.
We discussed about Aceh, Indonesia, Papua and I would give them information on how they (LTTE) were trying to resolve their problem. It was a fantastic exchange of opinions in a very sterile atmosphere in the university.
Self-governance in Aceh He was later introduced to top GAM leaders, some of whom are living in Malaysia, while others were in Sweden, including the rebels' self-styled prime minister and chief negotiator Malik Mahmud (photo, left).
When the peace negotiations - brokered by Finland-based mediator Crisis Management Initiative - were mooted, GAM leaders sought Ramasamys opinions, especially given his experience with the peace process in Sri Lanka.
They (Acehnese) reject the special autonomy
offer but they will go for the self-government of Wilayah Aceh. Independence is something integral and essential to them. They have talked about independence for 30 years. It doesnt matter, said Ramasamy.
You can go for a deal with some dignity intact, some international support, and at the same time they are able to control their natural resources, allow for Indonesia to withdraw and also for European Union participation.
Eventually GAM signed a historic peace deal with Jakarta by dropping its long-held demands for independence, putting an end to a brutal war which claimed 16,000 lives.
Indonesia in turn promised an amnesty for all political prisoners, to allow the creation of local political parties in the province and to withdraw its security forces by the end of the year.
The university should be proud that I was doing something good, said Ramasamy.
Instead, he said UKM was unable to accept that an academic can play a bigger
role other than teaching.
Q&A: Brokering peace in Aceh, Sri Lanka
Sep 2, 05 1:32pm
Malaysiakini: How did you get involved in the Aceh peace process?
Ramasamy: There were a number of Acehnese students at the university who worked with me, and I talked to them, listened to them. I was very sympathetic with their cause. I organised seminars for them during the martial law in Aceh in 2002-2003. We discussed about Aceh, Indonesia, Papua and I would give them information on how they (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) were trying to resolve their problem. It was a fantastic exchange of opinions in a very sterile atmosphere in the university.You have argued that the real reason for your abrupt termination was your involvement in the Aceh peace process.
They did not give me any reason. I can only speculate. I have been fighting for labour, criticising the government and university policies and lately the CSMU (Crimea State Medical University). But they (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia) have not given me any reason (for the termination).
When I talked to somebody here, he said the only reason I was terminated was because I was involved with the Helsinki peace talks. When I got back from the first round of the Helsinki talks, the secretary-general of the Higher Education Ministry called me. I went there and he said Indonesia complained to Wisma Putra that I was a GAM (Free Aceh Movement) advisor in Helsinki.
I told him I went there for an on-going research on the effects of tsunami in both Aceh and Sri Lanka. I went there not purely for the Helsinki talks. I had some other engagements in Helsinki. I was trying to contact some friends who were working on another issue. I showed him (Higher Education Ministry
secretary-general) a letter and he replied that he accepted my reasons that I was there as part of my profession. He advised me that next time, I should not go there because this might be misconstrued, that it might affect the relationship between Malaysia and Indonesia. After that I did not go.
So the matter was cleared. The letter was also sent to the vice-chancellor. I had gone to Helsinki on my own accord. I took 10 days leave. What was wrong with that? A lot of people take leave and go overseas to do academic work.
The point is after my retirement when they gave me a month-to-month contract, I already sensed that they were going to terminate me at some point. The question was on what grounds. They were going to get me. I supposed they used the Helsinki talks (as the reason).
Why do you think the government is so concerned with your involvement in Helsinki? Apparently Indonesia protested to Wisma Putra (Foreign Ministry) about that. Otherwise I dont see why Malaysia should be concerned about it. Im not the official advisor of GAM. Of course, GAM came to see me and a lot of other people also came for advice. That did not mean I was their official advisor.
I contributed in some meaningful ways (to the peace process). They have a peace agreement now. Malaysia should be happy. At least, we can send home 40,000 Acehnese who are here. In fact, some people came to me and said, Prof, in some countries you could have been given an award.
The university should be proud that I was doing something good. Their mind has the inability to accept that an academic can play a bigger role (other than teaching).
What are the similarities in the struggles of LTTE and GAM?
They are both nationalists. GAM struggles for independence, but of course, now they have renounced independence. The LTTE has never renounced independence. But given the global circumstances, both parties are willing to explore positions that are able to address their concerns. I think the LTTE is a much more powerful army and they can take on the Sri Lankan army. In the case of GAM, they are not so strong. To me, its simple - sometimes you struggle with arms, sometimes you struggle politically.
I am very happy that they (GAM) have reached a peace agreement with Indonesia and hopefully normalcy returns. Aceh has been devastated.
The point is Im well-recognised in many places. I have a series of seminars in Norway, in universities in Oslo, in Germany. Im not saying I am very knowledgeable, but I do have
an in-depth understanding of the issues involved.
How do you feel about LTTEs suicide bombers?
In the beginning stages of their conflict, they (LTTE) did not have any weapon. So they had to break the enemy and confuse them. One of the tactics was suicide bombers. They (suicide bombers) had been ingrained that being a martyr was the highest honour. That was the intensity of the struggle that I dont think GAM has reached. If GAM is seen as an Islamic movement, its struggle could have been extinguished a long time ago. Theirs is very much a secular struggle - a struggle for rights, for resources, for dignity and the well-being of the Acehnese which have been denied by the Indonesian government. With the LTTE struggle, you have people who have been fighting for more than
20 years.
Now going back to civilian life is a challenge for them because they have been trained to fight and kill, and die. When you go to the northeast of Sri Lanka, the first thing they do is to take you to the martyrs graveyard and show how these people had sacrificed their lives for the Tamil cause. Women carry arms and they are ferocious fighters in LTTE.
What really struck me is that nobody talks about these things. They only talk about LTTE - the fighting mercenaries, the ruthless fighters, the so-called terrorists and so on but what is interesting is the social transformation of the Tamil society, from a caste society to a society where we have actually to some extent eliminated the gap between men and women.
That is the most striking aspect of the Tamil society. How the war has actually eradicated the caste system and brought to forth the equal status of women. Because of the discrimination of Sinhalese, they cant go to the universities. The
system was so bad that the Tamils were simply non-existent. There was growing numbers of the unemployed and the situation was ripe for an arm struggle. The Tigers are not that devilish. They are actually very decent people. They won a decent settlement for the people. When you talk to them you become very sympathetic and gravitate towards their cause and see how you can actually be involved in the peace process. I think we should be able to transcend all the narrow values. I think the Acehnese have a lot of respect for me because I think I am the only one who supported them during the darurat (emergency) by organising seminars and all. There is no barrier and in fact they told me none of our Muslim brothers are supporting us here.
Recently the anthropology department wanted to organise a seminar on the peace agreement
and they invited me. Two days later, they cancelled my invitation. So I told the Acehnese students and one of them was shocked. He told them this was an insult to Prof Rama and this was an insult to the Acehnese. So they cancelled the seminar.
The majority of Acehnese students here came after martial law was imposed in 2002.
Yes. Some of them are doing degrees, mostly post-graduate (degrees). As far as the Indonesia military is concerned, every able Acehnese is a GAM member.
How does the peace process in Aceh compare with the one in Sri Lanka?
They (Acehnese) rejected the special autonomy offer but they will go for the self-governance of Wilayah Aceh. Independence is something integral and essential to them. They have talked about independence for 30 years. It doesnt matter. You can go for a deal with some dignity intact, some international support, and at the
same time they are able to control their natural resources, allow for Indonesia to withdraw and also for European Union participation. To me there is a lot of positive aspects but also a lot of negative aspects, especially the local election in 2006. Can GAM take control of the situation? Implementing the peace deal is a herculean stuff.
Sri Lanka is much more tensed. They have a cease-fire, and now a low-intensity conflict, the recent murder of (former foreign minister Lakshman) Kadirgamar, they dont know who was responsible. The Tigers could have done it, others could have done it. They are putting the blame on LTTE. The situation is much more polarised. And India is always playing a dirty game there.
To me, the issue is very simple. I dont think Sri Lanka has a problem with LTTE. The problem with LTTE has
always been with India because India doesnt want a separate Tamil state. If the Tamils in northeast Sri Lanka get independence, it might influence a similar movement in (Indias) Tamil Nadu.
I think they are trying to find out how they can move forward. Of course, we have the Norwegian mediator in a very difficult situation where a lot of killings are going on. The situation is much tense in Sri Lanka. I wouldnt be surprised if there is war tomorrow.
Superficially, there is some kind of settlement in Aceh but no settlement in Sri Lanka despite the fact that both areas are badly hit by the tsunami.
It is a very difficult situation and hopefully the low-intensity killings will stop. If not, they could actually lead to a major confrontation. I dont see how to resolve the conflict there unless the international community decides that there should be a settlement. But India is not very happy with Norways involvement.
Any differences between the Sri Lankan and Indonesian governments in dealing with their respective conflicts?
The Sri Lankan government have been sort of checked by LTTE. They outnumbered the LTTE in terms of weapons, but they lost many battles. They know that they cannot go and take over Tamil Eelam. They already accepted that.
In the case of Indonesia, I think the Indonesian army is much more brutal compared to the Sri Lankan army. The
Indonesia army is very strong but quite fragile in many ways. The problem with Indonesia is that it is very much centralised. Unless they move in the direction of federalism, the separatist movement is not going to die down.
The Sri Lankan army is actually afraid of the Sri Lankan government. The Sri Lankan army is all paid by the Sri Lankan government. In the case of Indonesia, the government pays only 25 percent of salary to the armed forces. So Aceh for them is rezeki (benefits). There are businesses and more after the reformasi in Indonesia, when the army took a beating in East Timor.
How do you see the peace deal in Aceh affecting Malaysia and its Acehnese refugees?
I think Malaysia would benefit from it. There will be a lessening in the burden of the government, especially in terms of refugees. There are about 30,000 to 40,000 refugees. They want to go back. They are not like the Indonesians who come to work
here.
Malaysia might have some role in the Aceh monitoring mission. However, after the Semenyih detention camp incident (where a number of Acehnese detainees were killed), the Acehnese do not trust the Malaysian government. The tragedy of Asean, which was clearly seen in East Timor, is their wait-and-see approach. They will never be pro-active. In the case of Burma, there is some. But in the case of Indonesia, Malaysia doesnt want to interfere.
Apart from closing one eye on the Acehnese refugees, there is no Asean spirit in resolving the Aceh conflict.
At one point you were the president of Prim (Parti Reformasi Insan Malaysia)?
No, thats another Prof P Ramasamy. [Laughs] He stays in Sabah. He is a bio-chemist from Universiti Malaya and he became the president of Prim and he is now working as a professor in Universiti Sabah. I was never involved in Prim although I know the members of Prim [Laughs].
So what are your future plans?
I have not really thought about it. Germany is quite interested in me. They wanted me to come for a few months as a guest professor in the University of Kassel. I might go there for a month. Two months is a bit long. I also need to discuss with another local institute which wants to see me next week.
Otherwise, Im thinking of a more active role in politics. Maybe more towards the oppositional politics. I will continue to do research. I also want to raise issues. I think we need to make more noise in this country. Of course, I would be highlighting labour issues and the underclass in the Indian community.
Ramasamy mulls legal action against UKM
Prof P Ramasamy was about to give one of his final lectures to his students. His last class - political economy - was last Thursday.
Nevertheless, he looked relaxed in his surprisingly uncluttered office on the fifth floor of the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysias Centre for History, Political Science and Strategic Studies.
Ive moved most of my books back to my house, he said.
Ramasamy, who has been with the university for 25 years, is ready to move out - and move on.
Clearly, it was painful for the political science professor to bid goodbye to the campus which he had lectured for more a quarter of century. Most painful are the students who he will leave behind in the midst of their studies.
He retired from the university in March this year when he celebrated his 56th birthday.
However, he received a monthly contract to continue lecturing and this was expected to last until May 2007, subject to approval by the university and the Department of Higher Education.
Last month, his contract was abruptly terminated, leaving many of his students in the lurch. No reasons were given by the university.
He had 12 PhD students under his charge, all of whom will now have to find another lecturer to supervise their research. But these lecturers may not have Ramasamys expertise.
Legal action
In recent years, the professor has developed an international reputation as a specialist in the study of national liberation movements and has close links with the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka and the rebels in Indonesia's troubled Aceh province.
Not surprisingly, a number of his students are from Aceh.
In 2003, he was appointed to the Sri Lankan Tamil Tigers' Constitutional Affairs Committee to help draft a proposal for an interim administration in Sri Lanka's northeast, and was the only non-Sri Lankan in the group. He also acted as an observer in the recent peace talks over Aceh in Helsinki (photo, second
right), brokered by the Finland-based non-governmental organisation Crisis Management Initiative.
Ramasamy suspected that his termination was his involvement in the Aceh peace process, where he attended one of the earlier rounds of talks.
The talks resulted in the inking of a peace pace on Aug 15 between the Acehnese rebels, GAM (Free Aceh Movement) and the Indonesian government, ending three decades of bitter fighting which claimed about 16,000 lives.
While he is not appealing against the university decision, Ramasamy is not going to take his dismissal lying on his back.
He is consulting with his lawyers on whether to sue the university for his unjust dismissal.
I may take legal action. Not so much that I want to be reinstated but I just want to highlight the fact that what they did was unacceptable, he told malaysiakini.
Active politics
And dont expect
Ramasamy to retire quietly.
He plans to join a political party. Id be involved in oppositional politics, he said. Already, a few parties have asked him to join their ranks.
For now, he is keeping mum on which party he will sign on.
I think we need to make more noises in this country, he said on his decision to play a more active role in politics.
When asked whether it would be Parti Reformasi Insan Malaysia (Prim) - a splinter group of the opposition PKR - as he was already its president, Ramasamy burst into laughter.
No, thats other Prof P Ramasamy. He stays in Sabah. He is a bio-chemist from Universiti Malaya and he became the president of Prim and he is now working as a professor in Universiti Sabah. I was never involved in Prim although I know the members of Prim.
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