Survey sheds light on violence

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In the last 13 years, the country has seen an astonishing number of social conflicts involving different ethnic and economic groups in which scores of people were killed, a survey found.

There have been numerous explanations for the violence that has erupted around the country, especially following the resignation of strongman Soeharto, but a trigger for many of the incidents was youth brawls, the survey, sponsored by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), found.

"Even without knowing the underlying causes of the violence, we can certainly try to put out the trigger (youth brawls) and reduce the level of violence," chief researcher Ashutosh Varshney said on Tuesday.

"Police and local administrations have to be sensitive to triggering factors and try to reduce them," he said.

Of the total number of violent conflicts, 681 cases, or 19 percent, were triggered by youth brawls or drunkenness, the survey, titled Database on Social Conflict in Indonesia, found.

UNDP resident representative Bo Asplund said the survey's attempt to gain a better understanding of factors contributing to conflict was in line with the call of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan for a shift from a "culture of reaction" to a "culture of prevention" in resolving conflicts.

The report revealed that between 1990 and 2003, 4,270 violent incidents ranging from ethno-communal clashes and interreligious conflicts to rivalry over economic resources occurred and claimed the lives of 11,160 people.

The study delved into episodes of violence perpetrated by groups on other groups, groups on individuals, individuals on groups, state institutions on groups as well as groups on state institutions.

"In 1999, the study recorded 523 cases of collective violence that claimed 3,546 lives," the report said. The 1999 figure was an increase from 432 cases the year before, but less than the 722 cases recorded the following year. The death tolls in 1998 and 2000 were 1,442 and 2,585, respectively.

The numerous incidents of violence across the country has shocked locals and foreigners, leading to the perception of uncontrolled violence and bloodshed spreading across the archipelago.

However, the survey found that violence during the period studied was locally concentrated.

"Cases of violence which accounted for 85 percent of the total deaths took place only in 15 regencies or municipalities," it said.

Varshney said the government should closely watch these 15 regencies and municipalities -- including several in the Maluku islands and all five mayoralties in Jakarta -- and draw up policies to empower the youth there.

The other regencies include Kotawaringin Timur in Central Kalimantan, Poso in Central Sulawesi and Landak, Sambas, Pontianak, Sanggau and Bengkayang, all in West Kalimantan.