A new approach needed
A new approach needed
The riot near Jayapura, the provincial capital of Irian Jaya, in which at least four people were killed, and the demands of local tribal chiefs of Timika that the PT Freeport Indonesia mining corporation be closed show that the social problems in the "wild east" province have grown more complicated.
The riot was ignited by supporters of Dr. Thomas Wanggai, a separatist leader who died in a Jakarta prison on March 12 and whose body was then flown to Jayapura for a family burial. The people were disappointed when they failed to take custody of the body which they had planned to carry to his home, 40 kilometers away. The local authorities did the job.
The latest development, which included kidnapping and subsequent painstaking efforts to free the 11 hostages still in the hands of an armed separatist gang in the remote jungle in the province, culminates the 32-year-old battle to put an end to the separatist rebellion.
With such a complicated political map, one may well ask why the struggle to crush a rebellion led by poorly armed locals has taken so much time and funding. Why is the military finding it more difficult to squelch this operation than that of the young colonels in Sumatra and North Sulawesi between 1958 and 1961, which was supported by no less than the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency?
The first reason may be that Irian Jaya is not only the least populated province of Indonesia, but also has the most difficult terrain and wildest jungles. The second is that the province still attracts large international attention because many foreign-based organizations suspect that so many things have gone wrong with the prolonged drama. The position has placed Indonesia in an unpleasant situation. While on one hand the conflagration should be put down as soon as possible, on the other it needs to be handled with care. So far the authorities have tried to solve it through the "military approach," plus an apparently extra carefulness, especially since foreigners are among the hostages.
Indonesia has enough experience to know that local rebellion can not be extinguished by bullets alone. It needs political, psychological and social approaches which in Irian Jaya have been lacking. There has been no research done on the part of the authorities as to why more and more people, especially youngsters and educated persons, feel disappointed with government policy. What simmers inside these citizens' hearts and minds? What are the established beliefs and traditions of the tribes, especially those in rural and jungle areas? How unique and sacred is their relation with their traditional lands and environment?
When the Dutch fought their most expensive war at the end of last century to win Aceh, the last piece of independent Indonesia, they sent a scholar to conduct research on the origins of Islam in Mecca, the heartland of the religion. He then did research in the Northern Sumatra area to have a better understanding of the area and how the religion played a powerful and dominant role.
Although the aim of the colonial measure was worth condemnation, the approach to overcome the impasse in Irian through a scientific way is worth consideration today. Wouldn't it help if we knew more about our own people who are divided into hundreds of tribal affiliations, traditions and cultures?