What causes ethnic violence?

The foreign media and the Indonesian government seem to have the same misconceptions about the causes of recent ethnic violence in Ambon, Maluku, and several other islands.

The International Herald Tribune, quoting European and American wire services, has reported on "religious riots", and the Indonesian government has sent in additional troops. Religious leaders have called for calm.

The Jakarta Post has been more accurate and more responsible in describing the conflicts as being "between indigenous Christians and migrant Muslims." If the conflict is seen as between indigenous people and migrants, it can be solved.

The Indonesian government should not send people into the areas where they are likely to get killed. The transmigration program, which lures poor people away from their homes in Java, Madura, and Southeast Sulawesi with the promise of vacant land, should be abandoned.

There is no island in Indonesia where local people want their culture to be overwhelmed by hordes of desperately poor, unemployed migrants from elsewhere. Violence against migrants has occurred on many islands, including Timor, Kalimantan and Irian Jaya. In many cases, the Javanese-led Indonesian army is seen as aiding the migrants and protecting foreign companies engaged in removing valuable mineral deposits and polluting local rivers.

If Indonesia succeeds in conducting a fair election in June, and the representatives chosen then elect a president supported by the majority of people, their most urgent task will be to reduce the conflicts between the majority of people, who live on Java, and the important regional minorities elsewhere. Every province needs an elected governor and a legislature with the power to negotiate on behalf of their constituents with the central government, on crucial economic issues like migration, taxation, and licensing of foreign businesses.

CHRISTY LANZL

Jakarta