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| Intergroup Relations: Ethnic Hostility and Conflict |
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Ethnic Chinese
There is a long history of ethnic hostility and violence toward the approximately eight million ethnic Chinese in Indonesia. Some of them have lived in the country for generations and hold Indonesian citizenship, while others retain their Chinese citizenship or are considered “stateless.”
Resentment against the ethnic Chinese is primarily the result of their perceived economic advantages. Although the ethnic Chinese comprise only around 4% of the population, before the financial crisis they accounted for the majority of private economic activity. This is partly due to the Dutch colonial legacy of using the ethnic Chinese as “middlemen”. While some of the Chinese control large amounts of money, there are also many lower and working class ethnic Chinese.
During the financial crisis the violence against ethnic Chinese increased significantly. The attacks were allegedly conducted by the government. In the spring of 1998, around 1,200 Chinese were tortured or killed and many businesses were looted or destroyed. There were numerous reports of the rape and assault of Chinese women. The targets were usually small shops opened by lower and middle income Chinese. Since then, an estimated 150,000 ethnic Chinese have fled the country, taking their assets with them, although some have since returned. Sporadic attacks against ethnic Chinese continue and some analysts wonder whether the government could not do more to protect the Chinese and their property.
The government is now encouraging the Chinese to come back. In 2000, former President Wahid allowed the first celebrations of the Chinese New Year for many years.
For more information, please see Chinese in Indonesia by Mizan Khan.
Kalimantan
There is ongoing ethnic conflict in Kalimantan, the Southeastern part of the island of Borneo between the indigenous Dayak tribesmen and migrant settlers from the island of Madura. In the last two years, hundreds have been killed and many Madurese homes burned. Since February 2001, over 500 Madurese have lost their lives and over 50,000 have fled the island.
The conflict partly stems from the effects of the Transmigration Policy and resulting land disputes. Migrants from Madura were relocated to Kalimantan in the 1960s and 1970s and given land along with other benefits. The indigenous Dayaks hold land communally and resented the land and other economic benefits given to the Madurese. These tensions have resulted in serious violence with reports of groups of Dayak’s looting, beheading, and killing Madurese people. Extremists have pledged to continue the violence until all Madurese have left the region.
West Papua (Irian Jaya)
West Papua, as Irian Jaya was recently renamed, is the Western part of the island of New Guinea. It is a largely undeveloped island inhabited by Melanesian tribes people. The violence in the region is primarily due to the activities of a long-standing separatist movement. The movement is primarily concerned that the benefits from the region’s natural resources are directed to Jakarta, rather than to the local population. Hostilities have also flared between the Papuans and the transmigrants who moved to Indonesia as part of the Transmigration Program.
Over the past couple of years, former President Wahid pursued policies that gave West Papua increased autonomy, and Papua recently offered to remain within Indonesia if it is pledged to keep a larger portion of its own wealth within the framework of the government’s decentralization plan.
View more information on decentralization
View more information on separatist movements
View Papuans in Indonesia by Mizan Khan
For more information on ethnic conflict, please see the following resources:
Deadly conflict in Central Kalimantan
Indonesia 2000: Genocide of a Christian Minority
Moluccan Islands: Communal Violence In Indonesia
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