A new approach needed<\/p>\n
The riot near Jayapura, the provincial capital of Irian Jaya,
\nin which at least four people were killed, and the demands of
\nlocal tribal chiefs of Timika that the PT Freeport Indonesia
\nmining corporation be closed show that the social problems in the
\n\"wild east\" province have grown more complicated.<\/p>\n
The riot was ignited by supporters of Dr. Thomas Wanggai, a
\nseparatist leader who died in a Jakarta prison on March 12 and
\nwhose body was then flown to Jayapura for a family burial. The
\npeople were disappointed when they failed to take custody of the
\nbody which they had planned to carry to his home, 40 kilometers
\naway. The local authorities did the job.<\/p>\n
The latest development, which included kidnapping and
\nsubsequent painstaking efforts to free the 11 hostages still in
\nthe hands of an armed separatist gang in the remote jungle in the
\nprovince, culminates the 32-year-old battle to put an end to the
\nseparatist rebellion.<\/p>\n
With such a complicated political map, one may well ask why
\nthe struggle to crush a rebellion led by poorly armed locals has
\ntaken so much time and funding. Why is the military finding it
\nmore difficult to squelch this operation than that of the young
\ncolonels in Sumatra and North Sulawesi between 1958 and 1961,
\nwhich was supported by no less than the U.S. Central Intelligence
\nAgency?<\/p>\n
The first reason may be that Irian Jaya is not only the least
\npopulated province of Indonesia, but also has the most difficult
\nterrain and wildest jungles. The second is that the province
\nstill attracts large international attention because many
\nforeign-based organizations suspect that so many things have gone
\nwrong with the prolonged drama. The position has placed Indonesia
\nin an unpleasant situation. While on one hand the conflagration
\nshould be put down as soon as possible, on the other it needs to
\nbe handled with care. So far the authorities have tried to solve
\nit through the \"military approach,\" plus an apparently extra
\ncarefulness, especially since foreigners are among the hostages.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has enough experience to know that local rebellion
\ncan not be extinguished by bullets alone. It needs political,
\npsychological and social approaches which in Irian Jaya have been
\nlacking. There has been no research done on the part of the
\nauthorities as to why more and more people, especially youngsters
\nand educated persons, feel disappointed with government policy.
\nWhat simmers inside these citizens' hearts and minds? What are
\nthe established beliefs and traditions of the tribes, especially
\nthose in rural and jungle areas? How unique and sacred is their
\nrelation with their traditional lands and environment?<\/p>\n
When the Dutch fought their most expensive war at the end of
\nlast century to win Aceh, the last piece of independent
\nIndonesia, they sent a scholar to conduct research on the origins
\nof Islam in Mecca, the heartland of the religion. He then did
\nresearch in the Northern Sumatra area to have a better
\nunderstanding of the area and how the religion played a powerful
\nand dominant role.<\/p>\n
Although the aim of the colonial measure was worth
\ncondemnation, the approach to overcome the impasse in Irian
\nthrough a scientific way is worth consideration today. Wouldn't
\nit help if we knew more about our own people who are divided into
\nhundreds of tribal affiliations, traditions and cultures?<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/a-new-approach-needed-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}