North Maluku conflict runs deep

By Ester Indahyani Jusuf and Desideria Utomo

This is the second part of an article on the conflict in North Maluku.

JAKARTA (JP): After Indonesia achieved independence, the Sultanate Confederation of North Maluku, under the sultan of Ternate, was conveyed local sovereignty in eastern Indonesia. Under the government of the time, known as the United States of Indonesia, the sultan of Ternate governed the State of Eastern Indonesia.

Subsequently, however, the dominant role of the sultanate in local government gave way to the current system of government, which prescribes that power be concentrated in the hands of the central government. Enactment of Law No. 5/1974 concerning fundamentals of local government and Law No. 5/1979 on village government were the means by which the centralized system of government was implemented.

It significantly eroded the traditional social structure of North Maluku, which was based on the sultanate system of government and feudalism. Adding to this were the appointment of local government officials who were not locals. As these changes took place, migrants continued to arrive.

The local inhabitants of North Maluku have not been able to benefit from the exploitation of natural resources in their region, nor is there balance between the economic development of the region and the detriment caused by the exploitation of local natural resources.

The scarcity of both formal and nonformal educational facilities is only one of the many symptoms of the region's underdevelopment. Many of those with a strong interest in education pursue higher education in Java, where well-educated native North Maluku people are more likely to be found than in their native land.

The structure of religious education has also significantly affected the social character of the region. Exclusive religious communities, which are effectively isolated from the cultural and religious diversity of the region, are a potential breeding ground for prejudice and negative sentiment toward other groups in society.

Prejudice and preconceptions have been further nurtured under the closed and repressive social and political system of the New Order regime. For 32 years, violence and an atmosphere hostile to dialog preserved superficial social order and political stability, simultaneously fostering seeds of potential conflict.

These mechanisms of control also have the potential side effect of socially justifying the use of violence to deal with heterogeneity within society.

The spirit of reform and the proliferation of the prodemocratic movement, which has swept the country since January 1998, left North Maluku and its people virtually untouched. In fact, there has never been a recorded prodemocratic mass movement by the people of North Maluku.

Democracy encourages dialog between different parties, to attend to those with opposing views and to discuss and resolve differences by nonviolent means. The lack of democratic spirit, combined with the absence of an age of renaissance (Aufklarung), which introduces rationality to society, has contributed to the vulnerability of the people of North Maluku to sectarian conflict.

Religion forms only the tip of the iceberg of the social conflict. The tangible problems of North Maluku that have long troubled the region lie on far more substantial issues. Underdevelopment of the region despite the richness and abundance of its natural resources and hence low levels of education, injustice within the bureaucratic system of the regional government, as well as the region's political and social tensions form a web of inseparable social predicaments.

Together with the region's strong history of warfare in the spirit of Muslim solidarity, these conditions formed a solid basis on which powerful groups with certain interests in creating social unrest have acted to provoke the killing of thousands of people.

The speed and breadth in which the chain of incidents which led to the mass slaughter, and the active participation of some local politicians, point to the use of organization and facilities to which only members of the political elite have access. The lack of forceful action by security forces until recently can also be seen as being permissive of the unrest and can be categorized as violence by omission.

To restore peace, law enforcement and good governance is urgent. An open and communicative social and political system and reform of the local government bureaucracy are also required. An open local election for the appointment of the governor of North Maluku would be a step toward a more democratic local government.

The central government contemplated granting regional autonomy to North Maluku. It gives rise to an opportunity for change and regional development, the need for which has been desperately felt by the people of North Maluku.

Adequate aid for refugees in providing medical services, restoring housing and education, assistance in finding new jobs for those who have lost their livelihood and other public services are also urgently needed. If local transmigration is a contemplated option, its suitability and viability must be investigated properly case by case, to avoid the recurrence of incidents of the kind, which occurred in North Maluku's Malifut district.

There is also a need to evaluate the religious education system, with the provision for a greater emphasis on the importance and need for peaceful relationships between different religious and ethnic groups, as well as in instilling humanitarian values.

Antidiscrimination campaigns need to be carried out on a large scale among the respective religious and ethnic groups. Dialog between diverse groups and reconciliation between them will also support the region's recovery.

Only through democratic mechanisms will the latent dilemmas of North Maluku be solved. If not, the problems will remain time bombs within society. They will explode again given enough provocation.

The urgent, specific and special needs of North Maluku require particular attention and should be placed in a special agenda to be discussed by the House of Representatives. But most critical of all is the political will of the government to resolve the problems for the restoration of peace in North Maluku.

Ester Indahyani Jusuf is chairwoman of Solidaritas Nusa Bangsa, a private group campaigning against discrimination which conducted a study on the conflict in North Maluku. Desideria Utomo is a staff member of its research and development department.