Regional discontent threatens unity<\/p>\n
JIMBARAN, Bali (JP): Rising regional discontent and anti-
\nmilitary sentiments are two major issues that President
\nAbdurrahman Wahid's new government must address to prevent the
\nnation from disintegrating, military observers and experts said
\non Saturday.<\/p>\n
Dewi Fortuna Anwar, a researcher at the Indonesian Institute
\nof Sciences (LIPI), pointed out at how local administrations were
\nallowed very few initiatives.<\/p>\n
Policies and programs were delivered top-down to ensure
\nuniformity of policy throughout the archipelago, regardless of
\nthe great diversity found on the ground, Dewi told a seminar.<\/p>\n
The government in the past kept a very tight rein over policy
\nand practices, and dealt ruthlessly with incipient opposition to
\nover-centralization and domination by central government.<\/p>\n
Although Jakarta's iron fist at first seemed to succeed in
\npacifying the regions, in reality the policy had failed to deal
\nwith the roots of regional discontent and has, in fact, created
\nnew grievances, Dewi said.<\/p>\n
Regional discontent has been an endemic problem in Indonesia
\nsince the first days of independence in 1945, but it was severely
\noppressed by the government in the past, she said, citing the
\nexamples of South Sulawesi, Maluku, Irian Jaya, Sumatra and even
\nWest Java in the late 1950s and 1960s.<\/p>\n
She classified regional insurgences under three headings:
\nseparatism, ideological movements and political-economic
\ndiscontent.<\/p>\n
\"Although in other parts of the country the situation was
\nnever as serious as in Aceh and Irian Jaya, except East Timor
\nwhich was a very special case, the feeling of resentment against
\nJakarta's repressive and arbitrary rule, as well as its lack of
\nconcern or sensitivity for local needs, was widespread among the
\npopulation as a whole,\" said Dewi.<\/p>\n
Over-centralization and an obsession with uniformity made the
\nnational motto of unity in diversity nothing more than an empty
\nslogan, which led to a general feeling of alienation and
\nresentment against the perceived domination of Java, she said.<\/p>\n
In this era of reform, Indonesia will not able to maintain its
\nunity and territorial integrity without paying serious attention
\nto the extreme heterogeneity of the population, and their desire
\nto retain their intrinsic identities within the framework of
\nnational unity, she said.<\/p>\n
\"Each ethnic group in Indonesia wishes to cling to its
\ndistinctive characteristics, so that unity in diversity is the
\nonly solution for Indonesia,\" Dewi asserted.<\/p>\n
Dewi, a former spokeswoman for the then president B.J.
\nHabibie, urged the new government to wholeheartedly implement the
\nlaws on regional autonomy and on fiscal balance which will allow
\na significant devaluation of power from the central to regional
\ngovernments at the district level.<\/p>\n
The local government will also be able to retain a much
\ngreater share of the natural resources available in their areas,
\nshe said.<\/p>\n
Andi A. Mallarangeng, a lecturer at the Institute for
\nGovernmental Studies (IIP), said the new government should loosen
\nits grip and domination over the regions, let them manage their
\nown affairs and not repeat the mistakes of the previous regime,
\nwhich used the regions simply as a source of revenue.<\/p>\n
\"The government should not belittle the threats of several
\nprovinces to separate from the central government. It must be
\nable to accommodate their dissatisfaction,\" Andi said<\/p>\n
Harold Crouch, a senior fellow at the Australian National
\nUniversity, said growing criticism against the military indicated
\nthat it had lost the respect of much of the public and was indeed
\nhated by many because of its human rights violations and its
\nbrutality.<\/p>\n
The government's failure to fully investigate cases of human
\nrights abuses involving military personnel has resulted in
\nincreasing demands for the military to return to their barracks,
\nCrouch said.<\/p>\n
\"This new political atmosphere, in which the military are
\nunder constant criticism and condemnation, has produced a great
\nsense of demoralization among military officers who had grown
\naccustomed to their high status under the old regime, which
\nallowed them to enjoy the perquisites of office and immunity from
\npublic criticism,\" said Crouch.<\/p>\n
He also warned the new civilian administration to learn from
\nthe recent military coup in Pakistan which was not protested by
\ncivilians as they were also not satisfied with the corrupt
\ncivilian regime.<\/p>\n
\"There is no reason to assume that democracy in Indonesia must
\nfollow the Pakistani path, but it is better to learn from the
\nmistakes of others than to suffer from the same mistakes,\" he
\nsaid. (prb)<\/p>",
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