Tension between ethnic groups obscures future

By Edi Petebang

PONTIANAK, West Kalimantan (JP): A well-known Dayak proverb goes, "Serve your guest. Give the Malay rice." A reflection on the Dayak's respect for pluralism, it instructs that a fellow Dayak should be served Dayak food. If the guest is Malay, or Muslim, give him rice that he can prepare at home and eat with his fellow Malays.

The truth in that proverb has become somewhat obsolete as a result of ethnic conflict in West Kalimantan.

"Those in power have adopted policies that stir civilian conflict in West Kalimantan," said Stefanus Djuweng of Institute of Dayakology.

Social tension in West Kalimantan was discussed at Tanjungpura University on Feb. 2 in a seminar aimed at seeking ways to reconcile the conflicting parties. Beside Djuweng, the seminar also featured Mohammad Sobary, a social observer from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences; Tomy F. Awuy, a lecturer from the University of Indonesia, and Chairil Effendy, an expert on Malay culture.

West Kalimantan has been rocked by a spate of ethnic wars over the past 30 years involving mostly the migrants from Madura Island and the indigenous Dayak and Malay groups. Hundreds of people have been killed. Thousands of the displaced Madurese have endured a miserable life in refugee centers across the province.

Djuweng and Effendy were of the same opinion that the ethnic fighting in West Kalimantan had been fanned and exploited by some people in the political elite for their personal gain.

The Dayak had vowed to dump their Ngayau (headhunting) tradition in 1894 in order to live side by side with other ethnic groups. But after Indonesia became independent, the New Order government's heavy handed policies in the name of stability allowed violence to flourish. The state sponsored violence was a kind of inspiration for people in resolving their conflicts.

"People believed that violence must be put out with violence," Djuweng said.

So the Dayak began to lose their spirit for reconciliation.

According to Djuweng, East Kalimantan is a hotbed of ethnic violence. The first major Dayak-Madura ethnic fighting broke out in 1950 and the second in 1968. Ethnic conflicts recurred every 2.9 years. In 1967, the Dayak were engaged in fighting with the Chinese.

The latest ethnic conflict last year involved Madurese and Malay groups.

In addition to ethnic tension, there is a great deal of political tension over West Kalimantan's abundant and diverse natural resources.

"The culture of violence has been generated by the New Order government," Djuweng said. The tension may lead to disintegration in the West Kalimantan community.

Djuweng suggested that all ethnic groups in the province learn to respect pluralism and not to see different ideas and values as a threat to their interests. He reminded them that their traditions promote peace. Meanwhile, they were encouraged to promote democracy and improve social justice.

He underlined the need for the formation of a Commission for Reconciliation for Peace and Justice at the provincial and district levels. Inter-ethnic dialogs should also been promoted at the grassroots level.

Sobary expressed his strong support for the reconciliation idea but suggested that sincere efforts by conflicting parties would be more fruitful.

"Reconciliation will occur naturally if everyone recognizes and respects plurality," he said.

The discussion was part of a campaign to promote peace in the conflict riddled province. Sponsored by the Foundation of Science, Esthetics and Technology, the campaign aims to promote peace throughout the country.

The peace campaign will continue in various cities across Indonesia such as Jakarta, Denpasar, Makassar, Surabaya, Medan, Bandung and Yogyakarta.

The campaign also features a film titled Puisi yang Tak Terkuburkan (The Poem that Can't Be Buried), directed by Garin Nugroho. Based on a true story, the film is about Ibrahim, an Acehnese poet, who was jailed in 1965.

The peace campaign in Pontianak featured a Julak dance which portrayed a peaceful country suddenly turned chaotic because the people turned greedy, arrogant and egoistic.

The campaign's chief challenge is the fact that many are pessimistic. Any reconciliation efforts in West Kalimantan will have to overcome the deep divides of animosity and the reinforcements of historical pattern that have divided the land's different ethnic groups.