Aceh (BM:2003)

**Aceh** is a country on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. Its full name is **Nanggröe Aceh Darussalam**. Past spellings of its name include *Acheh*, *Atjeh* and *Achin*. Its capital is Banda Aceh. Aceh has a history of political independence and fierce resistance to control by outsiders, including the former Dutch colonists and the Indonesian government. Aceh finally gained independence from Indonesia after the Government collapsed on June 1, 2003.

## Profile

* **Capital: Banda Aceh**
* **Official Languages: Acehnese & Indonesian**
* **Regional Languages: Arabic**
* **Leader: Sultan Irwandi Yusuf**
* **Established:**
	+ **Declared: November 15, 2003**
	+ **Recognized: June 1, 2019**

## History

### Pre-Black Mesa Incident

Centralizing tendencies of the government of Indonesian dictator Suharto led Hasan di Tiro, a descendant of the last sultan of Aceh, to form the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) on 4 December 1976 and formally declare Acehnese independence. The main perceived threats were to Acehnese religion and culture from the "neo-colonial" government and the rising numbers of Javanese migrants. The uneven distribution of income from Aceh's substantial natural resources was another point of contention. Despite these problems GAM is believed to have widespread support among the Acehnese people, although government-controlled election results indicate otherwise.

At first the guerrilla war of GAM was almost entirely unsuccessful, and the government appeared to have entirely neutralised the group by 1977. Hasan di Tiro even had to flee to Sweden in 1979.

The group was able to renew its activities in the years 1981 and 1982, apparently with financial support from Libya and Iran, fielding around 3500 soldiers. Although it initially failed to gain widespread support, the GAM's actions led the Indonesian government to respond militarily and with harsh and repressive measures, which aided GAM by alienating the civilian population.

During the late '90s, chaos in Java and an ineffective central government gave an advantage to the Free Aceh Movement and resulted in the second phase of the rebellion, this time with large support from the Acehnese people. This support was demonstrated during the 1999 plebiscite in Banda Aceh which was attended by nearly half a million people (of four million population of the province). The Indonesian central government responded in 2001 by broadening Aceh's autonomy, giving its government the right to apply Sharia law more broadly and the right to receive direct foreign investment.

In 2001, villagers from the North Aceh Regency sued Exxon Mobil for human rights abuses at the hands of Indonesian military units hired by the company for security for its natural gas operations. Exxon Mobil denies fault for the allegations. After a series of attacks against its operations, the company shut down its Arun natural gas operations in the province.

### Black Mesa

The world changed on May 16, 2003, when the BMRF's Anti-Mass Spectrometer malfunctioned. Within 4 days of the incident, Portal Storms happened all around the planet. Indonesia was not scathed from this, as a Portal Storm hit Jakarta on June 1, 2003, causing the death of millions and injuring thousands. 500 were reported missing, the number being the same since 2003, with all hope lost for the missing.

This fueled Acehnese Nationalism further, and so on November 15, 2003, Aceh declared independence from the now collapsed Indonesia.

### Post-Black Mesa

Famine and diseases took their death toll in Aceh. An estimated 750,000 people died in Aceh by January 2004, mainly due to lack of food and the Indonesian military not able to reinstate public order, without no solid orders. To make matters worse, the Indian Ocean was struck by tsunamis on December 26, 2004, devastating Aceh and other countries.

In 2012, the Indian Ocean Defense Alliance (IODA) was formed, and Aceh immediately applied for membership a week after it's formation. 3 years later, Aceh joined the IODA in 2015. When the World Reclamation Union was formed on May 16, 2018, the 15th anniversary of the Black Mesa Incident, Aceh joined on June 7, 2018.