Violence can flare up where it's least expected<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The threat of outbreaks of violence and public
\nunrest now hang over the entire archipelago, according to a noted
\nobserver.<\/p>\n
\"Anywhere could be affected,\" said Loekman Soetrisno, a
\nprofessor of sociology at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
Loekman told The Jakarta Post earlier that recent outbreaks of
\nviolence were the result of increasing difficulty faced by the
\nordinary citizens of Indonesia, and not through an intolerance of
\ndifferent cultures and beliefs.<\/p>\n
This week's clashes in Ambon, Maluku, had left 22 people dead
\nas of Thursday. The violence, which was reportedly triggered by a
\npersonal dispute between youths from neighboring hamlets,
\nintensified after rumors circulated that mosques and churches in
\nthe area had been vandalized and set on fire.<\/p>\n
The clashes were the latest in a serious of riots, ethnic and
\nreligious violence, and bloody feuds which has swept the country.<\/p>\n
Last November, 14 people died during clashes in the Ketapang
\narea of Jakarta. During the trouble, 22 churches were either
\nlooted and vandalized or set on fire.<\/p>\n
Shortly afterwards, rioting erupted in Kupang, East Nusa
\nTenggara, during which mobs burned or damaged six mosques in what
\nappeared to be in retaliation for the churches attacked in
\nJakarta. A church was also damaged in Ujungpandang, South
\nSulawesi.<\/p>\n
Before clashes began to take on religious connotations towards
\nthe end of last year, outbreaks of looting in which Chinese-
\nIndonesian businesses and properties were predominantly targeted
\nbecame commonplace around the country, particularly in Java.<\/p>\n
Crops were plundered from fields and estates, symbols of the
\ngovernment were vandalized and hundreds of Muslim clerics and
\nalleged practitioners of black magic were slaughtered in an
\nunexplained murder spree centering around East Java.<\/p>\n
In Blora, Central Java, farmers angered by the removal of
\nsubsidies on fertilizers and pesticides went on the rampage in
\nDecember last year.<\/p>\n
Rizaldi Boer, an expert from Bogor Institute of Agriculture
\ntold The Jakarta Post on Thursday that it would be vitally
\nimportant to ensure both fertilizers and pesticides were
\navailable at affordable prices in the months ahead.<\/p>\n
The removal of fertilizer and pesticide subsidies was \"ill-
\ntimed\", Rizaldi said, adding that the government should have
\nwaited until after the main harvest.<\/p>\n
Experts believe the unrest sweeping the country has been
\nprompted by the country's worst economic crisis in over three
\ndecades coupled with a political vacuum left by the resignation
\nof former president Soeharto last May after 32 years in power.<\/p>\n
A number of observers have alleged that at least some of the
\nviolence has been incited by groups within the political elite.<\/p>\n
Worsen<\/p>\n
Many analysts expect the violence to worsen as the June 7
\ngeneral election approaches.<\/p>\n
The security forces have shown they are unable, and in some
\ncases unwilling, to stop much of the violence.<\/p>\n
\"The security forces must strive to restore their lost
\nauthority ... not through violence, but through a show of honesty
\nand courage,\" Loekman said.<\/p>\n
This, he believed, would earn the security forces the public
\nsupport they badly need to uphold law and order.<\/p>\n
Unrest often springs from long-held animosity between rival
\nreligious and ethnic groups, This, he said, could lead to clashes
\nerupting almost without warning.<\/p>\n
Loekman emphasized the role played by \"chronic poverty\" and a
\n\"concentration of hardline religious sentiment\", which he said
\nwere key factors behind the violence.<\/p>\n
Loekman said that examples of such areas could be found in
\nJava, Kalimantan, Sumatra, Sulawesi and Irian Jaya.<\/p>\n
In Java, Loekman drew attention to a number of areas along the
\nnorthern coast in which poverty is rife, particularly in the
\nregencies of Pekalongan and Kendal in Central Java.<\/p>\n
Potential flashpoints on the south coast lie in towns like
\nCilacap and Tasikmalaya near the boundary between Central and
\nWest Java.<\/p>\n
The formerly peaceful fishing town of Cilacap was gripped by
\nrioting last August after resentment held against fishermen from
\noutside the area erupted in an outbreak of mob violence.<\/p>\n
\"There is a high poverty rate there,\" Loekman said.<\/p>\n
In East Java, Loekman cited Pasuruan, Jember and Bondowoso,
\nwhere there are large populations of Madurese people, who were
\nconsidered to be aggressive.<\/p>\n
In Kalimantan, he said that West Kalimantan harbored a potent
\nthreat of unrest due to the simmering feud between immigrant
\nMadurese and the indigenous Dayaks.<\/p>\n
In Sumatra, Lampung remains vulnerable due to its high
\npopulation density and multi-cultural hinterland, according to
\nLoekman.<\/p>\n
Both Irian Jaya and Sulawesi were singled out because of
\ntension between indigenous people and more affluent groups of
\nmigrants.<\/p>\n
As an example, Loekman pointed to the latest incident in Luwu,
\nSouth Sulawesi, where a richer migrant community from Toraja has
\nborne the brunt of the wrath of the area's less affluent
\nindigenous inhabitants. Fighting among rival factions there left
\nsix dead in the run-up to Idul Fitri.<\/p>\n
In Irian Jaya, he said, poorer indigenous tribespeople
\nresented migrants creaming off wealth from their natural
\nresources and sending it out of the province.<\/p>\n
Loekman said that while \"affirmative action\" was needed to
\nimprove the welfare of the indigenous inhabitants of Indonesia's
\neastern provinces, he pointed out that migrants should be
\nencouraged to distribute some of their wealth among indigenous
\npeople by providing them with employment.<\/p>\n
Among the most turbulent spots in the archipelago will be
\nJakarta, he said, warning that the calm of Ramadhan would be
\nbroken by a resumption of student protests after the Idul Fitri
\nholiday.<\/p>\n
As in other major urban centers, anger over high prices and
\nunemployment prompted widespread looting and rioting in the
\ncapital last year. This, he said, would continue if the economy
\ncontinued to worsen.<\/p>\n
Many city residents expect further rises in crime and fear
\nthat the situation will get even worse once the government
\ndeploys a civilian militia around the country to boost the
\nsecurity forces.<\/p>\n
Other undisputed hot spots are in the provinces of Aceh and
\nEast Timor. (aan)<\/p>",
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