Communal Violence and Democratization in Indonesia Indonesia democratized after the long and authoritarian New Order regime ended in May 1998. But the transition was far less peaceful than is often thought. It claimed about 10,000 lives in communal (ethnic and religious) violence, and nearly as many in separatist violence in Aceh and East Timor. This book is the first comprehensive analysis of the episodes of long-running, widespread communal violence that erupted during the post-New Order transition. Communal violence on this scale is new to Indonesia. It has been poorly understood by the interested public and specialists alike, whether within Indonesia or outside it. By adopting a contentious politics approach that examines the sociological processes of communal violence, the book details six episodes including ethnic fighting in West and Central Kalimantan, and Muslim–Christian violence in Central Sulawesi, Maluku (Ambon) and North Maluku. Drawing on exhaustive empirical material and detailed reports gathered from field visits to all the affected areas, van Klinken argues that there exists enough similarity between these episodes of communal violence to consider them as a single phenomenon. This violence can be linked to the practice of politics in Indonesia’s frontiers, namely provincial towns beyond Java where democratization and decentralization has led key figures to compete for control of the local state in ‘emergency mode’, by mobilizing ethnic and religious crowds. Such occurrences demonstrate how communal violence can erupt in a poor Third World country when the state is weak. By providing an alternative understanding of violent ethnic conflict in Indonesia through new source material and up-to-date field research, Communal Violence and Democratization in Indonesia will be essential reading to students of Southeast Asian studies, social movements, political violence and ethnicity. Gerry van Klinken is a Research Fellow at KITLV/Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies, The Netherlands. Routledge Contemporary Southeast Asia Series 1 Land Tenure, Conservation and 9 The Politics of Tyranny in Development in Southeast Asia Singapore and Burma Peter Eaton Aristotle and the rhetoric of benevolent despotism 2 The Politics of Indonesia– Stephen McCarthy Malaysia Relations One kin, two nations 10 Ageing in Singapore Joseph Chinyong Liow Service needs and the state Peggy Teo, Kalyani Mehta, Leng 3 Governance and Civil Society in Leng Thang and Angelique Chan Myanmar Education, health and environment 11 Security and Sustainable Helen James Development in Myanmar Helen James 4 Regionalism in Post-Suharto Indonesia 12 Expressions of Cambodia Edited by Maribeth Erb, The politics of tradition, identity Priyambudi Sulistiyanto and Carole and change Faucher Edited by Leakthina Chau-Pech Ollier and Tim Winter 5 Living with Transition in Laos Market integration in Southeast Asia 13 Financial Fragility and Jonathan Rigg Instability in Indonesia Yasuyuki Matsumoto 6 Christianity, Islam and Nationalism in Indonesia 14 The Revival of Tradition in Charles E. 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Coppel David Henley 8 Revolution, Reform and 15 Communal Violence and Regionalism in Southeast Asia Democratization in Indonesia Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam Small town wars Ronald Bruce St John Gerry van Klinken Communal Violence and Democratization in Indonesia Small town wars Gerry van Klinken First published 2007 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2007. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” © 2007 Gerry van Klinken All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Klinken, Geert Arend van. Communal violence democratization in Indonesia : small town wars / by Gerry van Klinken. p. cm. – (Routledge contemporary Southeast Asia series ; 15) Includes bibliographical reference and index. 1. Indonesia – Politics and government – 1998– 2. Communalism – Indonesia. 3. Ethnic conflict – Indonesia. 4. Political violence – Indonesia. I.Title. DS644.5.K597 2007 956.804–dc222006023831 ISBN 0-203-96511-6 Master e-book ISBN ISBN10: 0–415–41713–9 (hbk) ISBN10: 0–203–96511–6 (ebk) ISBN13: 978–0–415–41713–6 (hbk) ISBN13: 978–0–203–96511–5 (ebk) To all who suffered through the wars and to those unsung heroes in remote places who worked for their end Contents List of illustrations viii Preface xvii Acknowledgements xix Glossary xxi 1 Introduction 1 2 Why now? Temporal contexts 15 3 Why here? The town beyond Java 34 4 Identity formation in West Kalimantan 53 5 Escalation in Poso 72 6 Mobilization in Ambon 88 7 Polarization in North Maluku 107 8 Actor constitution in Central Kalimantan 124 9 Concluding reflections 138 Notes 147 Bibliography 157 Index 177 Illustrations Figure 1.1 Deaths and incidents of non-secessionist collective violence in Indonesia, 1990–2003 5 Maps 1 The Indonesian archipelago (an overview) ix 2 West Kalimantan x 3 Central Kalimantan xi 4 Central Sulawesi xii 5 Maluku (an overview) xiii 6 Maluku Province (after North Maluku splits off) xiv 7 Ambon city xv 8 North Maluku xvi Tables 2.1 Jakarta politics, regional unrest 28 3.1 Towns and communal violence 35 3.2 Proportion of non-agricultural workers 39 3.3 Proportion of civil servants to non-agricultural workers (%), 1990 [B] 41 3.4 Change in number of civil servants/1000 population, 1980s 42 3.5 Vulnerability to ethnic conflict 44 N VIETNAM W E THAILAND THE PHILIPPINES S MALAYSIA SULU PENANG Malay SABAH ACEH Peninsula BRUNEI Medan TALAUD SANGIHE SIMEULUE Kuala Lumpur SARAWAK Manado SINGAPORE HALMAHERA RIAU NIAS Minahasa SUMATRA LINGGA Pontianak KALIMANTAN Gorontalo TERNATE Palu BANGKA Padang Palangkaraya SULAWESI SULA SERAM IRIAN Bengkulu BELITUNG Banjarmasin BURU AMBON JAYA Buton BANDA Lampung Makassar Jakarta SELAYAR MALUKU MADURA KEI ARU JAVA Tasikmalaya Semarang Surabaya BALI LOMBOK Situbondo FLORES TIMOR SUMBAWA Kupang LESTE WEST SUMBA TIMOR SAVU ROTI Map 1 The Indonesian archipelago (an overview). M A L A Y S I A SAMBAS Sambas Jawal Siluas Tebas Sanggau Ledo Pemangkat Ledo Singkawang Samalantan Bengkayang KAPUAS HULU Monterado town Balaikarangan Mempawah SANGGAU Sanggau Sintang Pontianak er Kapuas Riv PONTIANAK SINTANG SULU KETAPANG SABAH BRUNEI SARAWAK Pontianak KALIMANTAN SULAWESI BELITUNG Banjarmasin Map 2 West Kalimantan. SULU SABAH BRUNEI SARAWAK Pontianak KALIMANTAN SULAWESI BELITUNG Banjarmasin Tumbang Samba Barito River Ka tin g a n R Buntok iv e r Kasongan Parenggean Palangkaraya K a h r a e y v a Sampit i Pangkalanbun n R R r e i v iv a Kumai e R y r o a it t ar Samuda n B e M Kuala Kapuas to Banjarmasin Map 3 Central Kalimantan. Manado Palu BUOL-TOLITOLI Makassar Una-Una DONGGALA Donggala TOGIAN ISLANDS town Parigi Palu Ampana BANGGAI Poso town Tentena POSO BANGGAI Lake ISLANDS Poso to Palopo Map 4 Central Sulawesi. N W E TERNATE HALMAHERA TIDORE S BACAN IRIAN JAYA OBI SULA SULAWESI SERAM BURU AMBON BANDA KEI Banda Sea ARU WETAR TANIMBAR TIMOR LESTE Map 5 Maluku (an overview). CERAM SAPARUA AMBON HARUKU BURU Ambon Tual Dobo BANDA KEI ARU WETAR TANIMBAR TENGGARA TIMOR LESTE Map 6 Maluku Province (after North Maluku splits off). Batukuning Poka Pattimura University Rumah Tiga Galala Hative Kecil Wayame Sahuru 4 < Tantui Ambon Bay Batumerah Mardika 6 Karang Panjang 3 5 1 Belakang 2 Soya Warhaong Batu Meja Benteng Tanah Lapang Batu Gajah Kecil Manggadua 7 Batu Gantung Kudamati 1. Governor’s office 5. Yos Sudarso sea harbour 2. Al Fatah mosque 6. Ambon Plaza Shopping Centre 3. Maranatha church 7. General Hospital 4. to Pattimura airport Map 7 Ambon city. MOROTAI Bere-Bere Galela Tobelo Jailolo Kao HIRI Malifut TERNATE HALMAHERA TIDORE MAKIAN KAYOA BACAN Laiwui OBI Map 8 North Maluku. Preface The idea of writing a book about all the episodes of ethnic and religious conflict taking place around Indonesia after the democratization of 1998 arose when I was living in Jogjakarta in 2001. In long conversations with Herbert Feith, my old friend and mentor who lived just around the corner on the Gadjah Mada University campus, the many unexpected happenings after the end of the author- itarian New Order on 21 May 1998 seemed at once to convey hope and fragility. Democracy was flourishing, the press was free for the first time, elections were being held. Yet, at the same time, more or less serious fighting was breaking out in places no one had ever paid much attention to. Indonesians are capable of so much forebearance and good humour that it sometimes seemed perverse to zoom in on the pools of blood in the frontline clinics on either side of A. J. Patty Street in Ambon, as if the whole country was falling apart. It clearly was not. I also had no wish to engage in the kind of pornography of violence that flourished on the Internet, gruesomely symbolized by one popular image of a severed head with a cigarette hung casually from its lips. This book contains few descriptions of the horror. Perhaps this instinctual avoidance mechanism led too quickly to an eager search for ‘explanations’, and made this study less than it might have been.