Affinity in danger<\/p>\n
When reports of bloody clashes between Madurese settlers and
\nlocal Dayaks and Malays in West Kalimantan's Sambas regency first
\nreached Jakarta last week, a disquieting feeling of deja vu
\ngripped many Indonesians. Similar incidents which occurred in
\nlate 1996 and early 1997 in approximately the same region and
\ninvolving the same population groups were too ugly to be easily
\nforgotten.<\/p>\n
Even as the first burst of renewed violence exploded in
\nSambas last week, unrest of a no less extensive scale and no less
\nsavage nature was still smoldering in Ambon, capital of the
\neastern province of Maluku, although a semblance of normalcy
\nappears to have returned.<\/p>\n
In past weeks and months, Indonesia seems to have been
\nengulfed in wave upon wave of mass violence and destruction that
\nhas prevented the nation from devoting all necessary resources
\nand attention to overcoming the political and economic crisis
\ntearing its once solid social fabric.<\/p>\n
For those reasons, the renewed ethnic violence in West
\nKalimantan did not really come as a surprise to most Indonesians,
\nportentous as it may be. What does seem rather startling given
\nthe scale and nature of the 1997 experience is that the local
\nauthorities appear to have been totally unprepared for last
\nweek's flare-up.<\/p>\n
The bloodshed that began last Tuesday is all the more tragic
\nsince it was apparently sparked by a petty dispute over a bus
\nfare. But rivalries that have existed for decades caused the
\nincident to readily explode into a virtual tribal war.<\/p>\n
As of the weekend, the reported death toll was 96. By Monday
\nthe figure was more than 100, though a precise figure remains
\ndifficult to ascertain while the number of evacuees seeking
\nrefuge elsewhere runs into the thousands. In the meantime,
\ngruesome reports of people being slaughtered and severed heads
\nparaded through the streets in macabre shows of public rejoicing
\nhave begun trickling in through the media.<\/p>\n
Amid all this, the presence of security personnel in the area
\nhas reportedly been scarce, although reinforcements are
\napparently being flown in from other regions in the country.<\/p>\n
The government's immediate task is obviously to restore peace.
\nThat done, an assessment of the underlying conditions that caused
\nthe recurrence of violence must be made in order to acquire the
\nmeans for building the foundations of true harmony between
\npopulation groups in the area. Participation of community
\nleaders, both formal and informal, could be of invaluable value
\nin the undertaking, as shown by experience gained elsewhere in
\nthe country.<\/p>\n
Admittedly, a complete and comprehensive solution to the
\nproblem of inter-group violence which the nation is at present
\nfacing in Kalimantan and elsewhere takes time to accomplish.
\nHowever, an immediate restoration of peaceful conditions, if not
\nactual harmony, is of the greatest importance. It is easy to see
\nthat continued violence of a magnitude and character as witnessed
\nin Ambon, West Kalimantan and other areas in the country could
\nthreaten the general election scheduled for June 7 or, in the
\nworst-case scenario, disrupt it altogether.<\/p>\n
As things are developing at present, it is difficult to
\ndismiss those who believe all this violence is planned and
\nexecuted by sinister masterminds bent on forestalling the
\nelections and thus indefinitely preserving the status quo.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/affinity-in-danger-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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