{
  "id": 1816773,
  "title": "When restraint became strategy: Indonesia’s long road to peace in Aceh",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/15/when-restraint-became-strategy-indonesias-long-road-to-peace-in-aceh",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-15T11:19:16.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Jakarta Post Academia",
    "slug": "the-jakarta-post-academia",
    "url": "https://www.thejakartapost.com/opinion/2026/08/15/when-restraint-became-strategy-indonesias-long-road-to-peace-in-aceh.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Indonesia's decades-long struggle in Aceh is no longer focused on surviving a war, but rather on establishing a thriving economy, ensuring honest governance, and providing genuine opportunities for its people. In late 2002, Indonesian troops surrounded a marshland area in North Aceh, trapping its senior Free Aceh Movement (GAM) leaders, including Sofyan Dawood. Instead of launching a decisive assault, military headquarters in Jakarta issued a surprising directive: \"Jangan\" (Do not). This order, seemingly counterintuitive, was one of the most pivotal decisions in modern Indonesian history. By refraining from a final, crushing assault, then Armed Forces commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto ensured that the very leaders needed for future negotiations would remain available. This strategic restraint was not born out of sentiment, but rather a hard-learned lesson that Indonesia had been grappling with for years. Initially, Sukarno confronted insurgencies with ruthless force, executing leaders like Sekarmadji Maridjan Kartosuwiryo. However, Indonesia slowly evolved, adopting a more measured approach to conflict resolution.",
  "summary": "Today, Aceh's main struggle is no longer about surviving a war, but about building an economy that works, maintaining honest local government, and creating real opportunities for its people.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}