Breaking cycle of violence in Indonesia

Breaking cycle of violence in Indonesia

Annabel McGoldrick, Reporting the World, London, annabelmcg@aol.com,
and Aya Muchtar, Contributor, Jakarta, aya@cbn.net.id

One necessary intervention is aimed for political security.
Law enforcement is a pre-requisite of stabilization, whether
before, during or after major conflict -- and it must be seen to
be fair and impartial. The Poso conflict in Central Sulawesi was
triggered when a man who had been wounded in a fight ran to the
mosque, to rouse fellow Muslims to strike back, instead of the
police. Why?

The police and Indonesian Military (TNI) are needed to win
people's trust; hence they must reform. Unless the legal and
coercive instruments are perceived as legitimate and independent,
the state's capacity to implement policies to support
reconciliation and prosecute human rights violations will be
severely undermined.

For political security the following requirements are needed:
o Free elections: The overthrow of a dictator and installation of
democratic process is a monumental task. It is in new democracies
where we can best gauge the value of free elections.

In 1999 in East Timor, despite the increase in violence by
militias against civilians prior to the election, 98 percent of
the electorate voted. Increased violence after the results came
out was a backhanded testimony to its true significance. Such an
incontrovertible public assertion of the public will could not be
ignored, even by those so bitterly opposed to the process.

o Control of militias: Armed militias or paramilitaries have
to be brought to negotiations. This is not necessarily best done
by armed forces; it is the Henri Dunant Center which has
succeeded in bringing the Free Aceh Movement to the negotiating
table with Indonesia.

o Responsible media and good communications (see related
article below).

o Economic security: If people are assured that they will be
able to meet their basic needs of food and shelter, they are less
likely to make trouble. One way is community banking, helping
local traders to organize their finances and put their lives on a
more sustainable footing. Foshal, an NGO in Ternate, set up a
cooperative in a traditional market, with more than 1,000
customers, mainly street vendors and vegetable stall-holders.

o The next intervention aims for psychological security:

The traumas of victims need attention and, if possible,
healing. One way is by "active listening", whereby an independent
witness or witnesses gives the traumatized person their full
attention for as long as necessary to discharge their fear, grief
and anger. If done well, this way prevents anger hardening into
bitterness and retaliation.

In Manado, in North Sulawesi, refugee children were helped to
process their trauma by singing, writing poems and drawing
pictures of their bitter experiences in North Maluku. Organizers
of the project run by Peka, a local NGO, said that initially the
drawings were of knives and weapons -- which gradually changed to
normal childhood scenes of houses and families.

Another group, in Ambon, comprises mothers from Muslims and
Christians. This Movement of Caring Women (Gerakan Perempuan
Peduli) provide counseling for traumatized victims and guidance
to other mothers as to how to dissuade their children from
seeking revenge. They also provide the one thing every refugee
parent wants above all -- help with their children's education.

Psychological security requires the following:

o Mediation: During periods of violence, GPP met in a neutral
space in Ambon and kept in touch by telephone. Sometimes
mediation is required for this kind of contact to begin -- by a
respected, non-judgmental third party to talk to members of
conflicting groups and facilitate a meeting. In Ambon, one such
party was the peace center of Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta.

o Bridge-building: Countless groups and individuals in
Indonesia's conflict-affected areas work on bridge-building.

The tireless work of religious leaders in Manado is central to
why the city, made up of 60 percent Christians and 40 percent
Muslims has resisted the bloodshed. The capital of North Sulawesi
is sandwiched between North Maluku on one side and Poso on the
other. The Interreligious Group Association, BKSUA, led by
luminaries like Jotje Wala, a Christian priest, studied certain
verses both in the Bible and the Koran to get good understanding
of both holy books and to be able to give information to their
followers about the peaceful messages in both great religions.

Bantaya, a local NGO in Palu, central Sulawesi, gathered local
farmers to set aside land to lend to refugees from Poso, and
houses for them to live in. They had some independence,
cultivating and selling their own crops.

So it was a form of economic, therefore political, security,
but it also proved that someone cared about them enough to look
after them. Add to this the efforts of local Christian priests to
marshal their followers to help clean and rebuild a local mosque,
and you have a community active in bridge-building -- an
important investment in preventing the Poso conflict from being
imported into Palu in the minds of those affected by it.

o Truth and reconciliation: From South Africa to Chile over 20
truth and reconciliation commissions have allowed people to
address their fears and resentments in public, and in a safe and
controlled environment.

The obvious case for truth and reconciliation is the slaughter
of 1965-1966 in which as many as a million people may have died,
in the name of opposition to communism. Evidence which has come
to light in the U.S. strengthens the suspicion of CIA involvement
in providing lists of names of suspected PKI members. The
children of suspected communists have spoken out, urging
Indonesia to come to terms with this brutal episode.

Many people suppose that victims need to be prepared to forget
about what happened to them. Yet what is needed is something to
be done about it, whether justice, or compensation, or simply
someone listening and taking seriously what they have to say.

Without this, a society cannot move on; the violence and
trauma is never fully expunged, and it carries the dread
possibility that people could resort to the same thing.

o Transforming the cycle of violence:

These brief examples indicate the potency of non-violence. If
applied systematically, robustly and with adequate funding, they
illustrate how the cycle of violence can be transformed.

While efficient measures of evaluating conflict resolution
initiatives are being developed, if they are successful, it is
hard to measure their effects in terms of what did not happen.

Effective conflict prevention will avoid bloodshed, possibly
even a full-scale civil war.

Further, interventions to break the cycle of violence are
inadequately funded -- a particular concern in Indonesia after
the Bali bomb. The international community has been a major
source of support for many of the initiatives mentioned here,
providing access to knowledge which has empowered peace actors.

Jamaluddin, an ulema from Palu, Central Sulawesi and self
proclaimed hardliner, said after a training of "Communicating for
humanity": "I didn't realize I gave bad influence to many people.
I think that was because I had a lack of knowledge; I didn't have
enough understanding towards other people who are different from
me".

But there have been signs that the international community may
be in the process of disengaging, with western embassies sending
their nationals home. Indonesia must not be isolated at this
time, and strong early signals of a continuing commitment by
overseas governments and NGOs will be welcome as an investment in
a safer future for all of us.

The writers recently led a training program in peace
journalism for the British Council in Jakarta.