Real or perceived threat?<\/p>\n
One of the latest buzzwords in Indonesian politics is
\n\"disintegration\". Senior government and military officials have
\nbeen raising the alarm lately about the possibility of Indonesia
\nbreaking apart the same way that the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia
\ncollapsed.<\/p>\n
They base their argument on recent developments. There is the
\ngrowing demand for independence in East Timor, Irian Jaya and to
\na lesser extent Aceh. Other regions are calling for greater
\nautonomy and for a greater share of the national pie. Some people
\nsay the May riots, which had ethnic overtones, suggest deep
\nhatred between different groups in this diverse society. They
\nargue that the establishment of political parties along sectarian
\nlines is a major threat to national unity. Then, there has been
\ntalk of turning Indonesia from a unitary to a federal state.<\/p>\n
There has been endless discourse on the threat of national
\ndisintegration. We have had experts at seminars and on TV
\ntalk shows discussing the subject. These officials and experts
\nappear to agree that the threat exists. But no one questions
\nwhether the threat is real or perceived. A closer analysis would
\nsuggest that the threat is perceived, and it is mostly in the
\nminds of government and military officials.<\/p>\n
East Timor, Irian Jaya and Aceh have had a long history of
\nseparatist movements. If the demands sound louder today, it is
\ndue to the greater political openness, though not necessarily
\nbecause of greater tolerance. The demand for greater autonomy
\nfrom other provinces reflects their frustration at the heavy hand
\nof the central government in running their affairs.<\/p>\n
The May riots had their origins in anything but ethnic
\nconflicts, especially since it is now an established fact that
\norganized groups were behind them. Sectarian political parties
\nhave been founded because existing parties have failed to promote
\nor defend the interests of their groups, and not because they
\nintend to impose their agenda on the rest of the nation.<\/p>\n
The proposal for a federal state surfaced as an option because
\nof the failure of the unitary state in solving some of the
\nnation's problems. It is anything but a threat, and could in fact
\nprovide a viable alternative solution to our problems.<\/p>\n
If the threat of national disintegration is perceived rather
\nthan real, the government's responses often have been real, and
\nexcessive.<\/p>\n
The military operations against insurgences in East Timor,
\nIrian Jaya and Aceh are cases in point. The government has
\ndismissed aspirations for an independent state, or for a
\nreferendum, as coming from a tiny minority of the populace. Yet
\nthe military launched operations to put down these rebellions on
\na scale that suggests that the threat was serious.<\/p>\n
The abduction of a bunch of young political activists by the
\nArmy's Special Force provides another example of how the military
\nwas prepared to deal firmly with even the slightest perceived,
\nrather than real, threat to the state and the political system.<\/p>\n
Even the threat to the present unitary state concept should
\nnot be exaggerated. Although proponents of a united states of
\nIndonesia are limited, a healthy discourse on the issue could
\nshed light on the advantages and disadvantages of the two
\ndifferent systems. Even if we do not move toward a federal state,
\nwe could incorporate some of the elements used in a federal state
\nas we grant autonomy to the regions.<\/p>\n
Any discourse on the threat of national disintegration must
\nput the issue in its proper proportion, and consider whether the
\nthreat is real or perceived. Those who raise the alarm and are
\nprompted to react to these threats are still living in a bygone
\nera where security was the overriding concern. They are the ones
\nwho often make a federal case out of these so-called threats.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/real-or-perceived-threat-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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