Ian Wilson THE CHANGING CONTOURS OF ORGANISED VIOLENCE IN POST NEW ORDER INDONESIA Working Paper No.118 February 2005 The views presented in this paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the Asia Research Centre or Murdoch University. Working papers are considered draft publications for critical comments by colleagues and will generally be expected to be published elsewhere in a more polished form after a period of critical engagement and revision. Comments on paper(s) should be directed to the author(s) at
[email protected] A revised version of this paper is published in Critical Asian Studies, 38 (2), June 2006: 265-297 © Copyright is held by the author(s) of each working paper: No part of this publication may be republished, reprinted or reproduced in any form without the permission of the paper’s author(s). National Library of Australia. ISSN: 1037-4612 Paramilitary, vigilante and militia groups have a long and colourful history in Indonesia. Prevalent throughout the colonial period, the Indonesian national army itself was originally formed from such groups, pointing to the longstanding historical ambiguity between ‘legitimate’ and ‘illegitimate’ uses of violence (Cribb 1991). During the New Order, as has been well documented, the state fostered and utilized a number of quasi-official organizations such as Pemuda Pancasila, and Pemuda Pancamarga (Ryter 1998). Drawing from gangs and the criminal underworld of preman (thugs), these groups acted as ‘assistants’ to the regime, employing the time- proven methods of physical and psychological intimidation in carrying out what 1 O’Rourke refers to as ‘regime maintenance’ chores (O’Rourke 2002: 11).