Rethinking the Dominant Narrative: an Analysis of Indonesian Approaches to Ethnic Conflict in Indonesia

Check out my MPhil thesis published online by UNSW:
http://www.unsworks.unsw.edu.au/primo_library/libweb/action/dlDisplay.do?vid=UNSWORKS&docId=unsworks_36720&fromSitemap=1&afterPDS=true

This is what it's about:

Abstract: This thesis examines the way in which the dominant, Western-centric narrative of ethnopolitics limits a comprehensive understanding of the underlying causes and features of ethnic conflict in Indonesia. This is achieved through a comparative analysis of the way in which ethnic conflict is understood in the dominant narrative compared to the Indonesian context as it presents in Indonesian language and Indonesianist scholarship. In particular, alarmist images of an ‘arc of instability’, a ‘balkanised Indonesia’ and an ‘archipelago of fear’ conveyed through the dominant narrative as destined, natural or inevitable will be challenged. Analysis of Indonesian scholarship and commentary revealed two main themes divergent from the dominant narrative of ethnic conflict. Firstly, the consideration of political and economic factors as the underlying causes of ethnic conflict, and secondly, the dual comprehension of ethnicity as both primordial and instrumentalist. Themes of political and economic drivers of ethnic conflict in Indonesia thus provided the theoretical structure for this thesis. Initially, this may appear to convey Indonesian understandings of ethnic conflict as strictly instrumentalist, however deeper examination of Indonesian discourses surrounding concepts of Pancasila, SARA, religion, and communal identity, revealed strong primordialist notions that work to complement, rather than oppose instrumentalist theories. In so doing, this thesis reveals the way in which Indonesian understandings of ethnic conflict illuminate alternate interpretations of ethnicity emphasising notions of political nostalgia, the nature of conflict in society, and ideas of conflict entrepreneurship. This thesis proposes the need for a new framework with which to analyse ethnic conflict and fully comprehend ethnic conflict in Indonesia outside of the rigid, traditional confines of international relations and ethnic studies frameworks. 

Criminals and ‘thugs’ or racial segregation? The Baltimore riots aren't black and white.

Almost two weeks since the streets of Baltimore erupted in violence following the funeral of 25-year-old Freddie Gray who died of injuries whilst in police custody, swelling media hype is transfixed on images of a mother scolding her son for demonstrating; the use of the word ‘thugs’ to describe the protesters;  Baltimore Mayor Rawlings-Blake’s unclear messaging; and the movement of the Governor’s office to Baltimore City. These stories paint a picture of a city in damage control; focused on the superficial details of the immediate impact of the disaster, rather than the seismic shifts that caused it.  

The Huffington Post recently published an article entitled ‘Racial Segregation and the Baltimore Riots’, which argues that in retrospect, the riots should not have been a surprise:

The tensions between the police officers and African Americans living in segregated, inner-city communities have been festering for decades. The problems attributable to segregation can be traced to the early decades of the 20th century when American ghettos were deliberately created and maintained by public and private institutions. 

Portrayed as a clash between black citizens and the police – the oppressed minority and the powerful majority or even black vs ‘white’ – an investigation is underway to ascertain whether or not the Baltimore Police engaged in civil rights violations. Attorney General Loretta Lynch stated the investigation

“Will focus on allegations that Baltimore Police Department officers use excessive force, including deadly force; conduct unlawful searches, seizures and arrests, and engage in discriminatory policing.”

To some, this echoes investigations following the death Michael Brown, which ultimately found the Police Department had racial bias in its practices. To others, it is a reminder of the riots that ensued after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. While the similarities between these events are limited, the fact these comparisons are so readily drawn indicates that there are feelings of discrimination and wrong-doing fresh in the shared Baltimorian memory. When these shared memories exist so violently in a community, accuracy is no longer the most important element in the conflict.  

Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts highlighted this point by emphasising the significant lack of trust between the community and police in Baltimore. Likewise, President Obama stated there is a growing trend of class stratification in America between the very rich and the very poor, encouraging people to combat poverty as the underlying cause of the Baltimore riots. Pinpointing the roots of unrest in Baltimore as a lack of opportunity for inner-city youth and laws that make it difficult to escape a cycle of crime, how does this translate on the ground in Baltimore?

Does this mean we should be looking at class-based – dare I say, Marxist – interpretations of American society to resolve what is commonly considered ‘racial’ or ‘ethnic’ conflict? If this is the case, the riots in Baltimore aren't as black and white as they may seem.

   

Surfing, skating, weaving: ways to empowerment and meaningful engagement

As beautiful and shocking as the 1985 National Geographic portrait of the Afghan Girl, photos of young Afghan girls skateboarding in Kabul published in My Modern Met article Skateboarding Empowers Afghan Girls by Giving Them Strength and Freedom illustrates the ‘wheels of change’ in motion.

Not-for-profit organisation Skateistan was founded to “empower young people, providing a foundation for change and educational opportunities” and works in Afghanistan (its HQ), Cambodia and South Africa. Their goal is especially ambitious in Afghanistan – and even more so in targeting young women - where women riding bikes is considered provocative and immoral.

Nonetheless, Skateistan reports that 40% of participants in Afghanistan are female. In a patriarchal, war-ravaged country, this must be a breath of fresh air for those who have the opportunity to get involved.  

Finding alternate channels to empower the future generations of countries exposed to war, conflict and poverty is critical in developing mechanisms for peace. Not only does the provision of skills – even as hobbies and not for employment – empower people with the ability and courage to pursue other avenues for success. It also opens up channels for peaceful and meaningful interaction.

Skateistan is not alone in this pursuit. In Papua New Guinea, the PNG surfing Association is teaching locals to make wooden surfboards, to develop the local surfing industry in the hands of local people. The idea came about after talking to village elders who told stories of children surfing crude boards made from 'splinters' from broken canoes and felled trees.

In East Timor, the East Timor Women’s Association (ETWA) supports local women’s (and men in some instances) involvement in the tradition of Tais weaving, as an opportunity to improve [local women’s] skills, extend their market reach to improve their access to things they can’t afford, maintain traditional practices and share the riches of their culture.

Finding the right avenue to peace and progress is a difficult task in itself. I think these kind of initiatives are paving the way. 

A century of conflict in Yemen: timeline reads more like political than sectarian cleavage

ABC News article Timeline: A century of conflict in Yemen outlines the history of a country “embroiled in conflict” for close to one hundred years. Since the decline of the Ottoman Empire, Yemen is portrayed as a country divided between north and south, plagued by uprisings and civil war in the name of anti-feudalism, anti-colonialism, separatism and various other ideologies. A history of Al Qaeda attacks in the country add to the sense of turmoil expressed throughout the timeline. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is particularly volatile, because of its technical expertise and global reach. On top of this environment is the emergence of a Yemeni affiliate of ISIS that seeks to eclipse AQAP.

That today’s conflict is one between Shia (Zaidi) Houthi rebels and the besieged Sunni backed Yemeni government is to oversimplify the situation.

Iran specialist, Fatima Alsmadi, from the Al Jazeera Studies Centre made clear that the conflict in Yemen is political, not sectarian. Interviewed by Al Jazeera she stated:

“Some Saudi media outlets tend to portray the conflict in sectarian terms, i.e. Sunni vs Shia, in order to gain support from the predominantly Sunni Arab population, and to lend legitimacy to its actions. The conflict essentially remains a political one for power and influence in the region between Iran and Saudi Arabia (and its Arab and western allies).”

That this is not a sectarian, ethnic, or racially driven conflict is clear in analysing the complex web of actors involved: the Houthis, fighting for control of the Yemeni government; the ousted Yemeni Government, with split military alignments between ousted President Hadi and his predecessor Saleh (who now supports the Houthis); AQAP, whose existence in Yemen precipitated a history of US Special Forces involvement in the country; Saudi Arabia/Arab military coalition, backing Hadi; Iran, backing Houthis; ISIS, who seek to overthrow rival AQAP; and the USA, supporting the Saudi coalition.

If it is clear that this is not a sectarian conflict, then why would Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, be concerned that it could help trigger a wider sectarian war in the region? Perhaps it is easier to call a complex and volatile situation ‘sectarian’ than it is to call it a problem of representation and legitimacy.

Rather than an intractable religious conflict, or a ‘clash of civilizations’, conflict in Yemen is symptomatic of a wider political problem; being one of unequal access to power and resources. This is the underlying factor to Yemen’s timeline of conflict: a timeline of unequal access to power and resources.

PHOTO: Rubble left in the wake of Saudi-led air strikes against Houthi rebels in the southern port city Aden. (Reuters: Khaled Abdullah)

West meets East: resolving conflict by understanding thy neighbour

In what appears to be a climate of increasing religious extremism and transnational crime, there is a renewed interest in understanding the importance of cultural sensitivity in international affairs. Not only is there interest among politicians and law-makers, but also within government organisations, businesses, pedagogical institutions and the general community. 

An understanding of cultural and social nuance plays a critical role in maintaining regional stability; especially so if factors such as civil unrest, human rights violations, and ethnic conflict exist. While this sentiment makes sense, it appears there is nonetheless a divide between the way conflict is perceived by commentators from the country in which it takes place, compared to the perception of external commentators. This is clear in the case of Indonesia, where ethnic conflict throughout the archipelago is understood differently by Indonesian commentators than to Western conflict scholars and international relations theorists external to Indonesia. Politicians, Defence Ministers and strategic thinkers may perhaps wonder if tying Indonesia into an 'arc of instability' isn't the best approach to conflict resolution in the region, after all?

Instead, understanding the way Indonesian commentators view ethnic conflict in their own country provides a deeper and more culturally nuanced understanding of conflict situations in Indonesia. This will better inform non-Indonesian commentators on how to frame approaches thereto.

From a preliminary reading of Indonesian language commentary (that ordinarily wouldn't/couldn't be included in the dominant narrative for various reasons), it seems that an Indonesian point of view sees ethnicity, in many instances, as a superficial cause of 'ethnic' conflict. In fact, there are a number of other catalysts that play a much larger and more significant role as catalysts to ethnic conflict than ethnicity does. Political and economic issues - problems of representation - where the fiscal or legal rights of groups of people are transgressed, appear to be the main causes of ethnic conflict manifest throughout Indonesian commentary.

What does this mean - for the conversation on today's climate of religious extremism and transnational crime? For understanding and preempting terrorist organisations such as ISIS and how/why they take root in countries such as Indonesia? For creating a practical approach to meaningful dialogue with our neighbour? 

These questions require us to understand our neighbour; a place where the West meets the East. 

Are We Letting Terror Take Hold?

Greg Curtain in his article entitled Media, not the judicial system, to blame for soft-on-crime view quotes George Orwell reflecting on how "murders reported in the mass media had certain dramatic and tragic qualities that made them memorable and newsworthy". In this way it's not surprising that various studies such as that by the Australian Psychological Society and the Australian Institute of Criminology report that while official crime statistics show most crimes are non-violent, media reports often suggest the opposite and sensationalise the truth. While it may be no surprise that things in the media are not really as bad as they seem, an article written recently commemorating the 09 September 2004 bombing of the Australian embassy in Jakarta reminds us not of the threat of terrorism we are told is imminent, but that it is important to take a reality check, and to seek effective and meaningful courses of action against the root causes of our fears.  

A story of violence, suffering, determination and unthinkable forgiveness was published recently by the Adelaide Independent news website "In Daily". It was called Bomb Survivor Fights Terror With Humanity and what may be even more remarkable than the powerful story of Sudirman Thalib and his willingness to forgive those who terrorise - those who bombed the Australian embassy in Jakarta ten years ago this month - is the fact this story was published at all, considering the demand for news of the terrible, the horrific, the terrifying and the unrelenting; crimes that force you to reconsider your need to leave the house. Sudirman's story by no means is a bed time tale, in fact he describes looking around him after the bomb went off, seeing people near him dead on the ground and thinking that he himself would die there too. What is extraordinary is that this is not a story to make you fear strangers and public places, instead it illuminates another approach to solving conflict - through compassion, understanding and humanity. It is an article which presents a solution - albeit at the micro level - to what would seem an intractable problem of world wide terrorism.

As a supply and demand industry, perhaps the media is not to blame for the atmosphere of fear - the constant terror, violence and crime updates on the news. Maybe we want to hear stories of intractable conflict, of martyrs and victims - surely it only sells because we buy it?

Does this mean we are responsible for what we read in the news? If this is the case - does this mean we are letting terror take hold?  

Rethinking Australia’s Indonesia Policy to Build Real Relations

"INDONESIA looms as the most important strategic reality in Australian defence thinking. We forget that fact when relations between Canberra and Jakarta are broadly positive." 

Peter Jennings (2013)

Executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Peter Jennings in his October 2013 article in the Australian explained why we need deeper ties with Indonesia, since the past decade of Indonesia's development has been a "quiet success story", having enjoyed "solid economic growth, managed a remarkable transition to being a stable democracy and kept under control the potential destabilising threat of jihadist terrorism." While various Indonesian scholars debate this sentiment and instead suggest that issues of violence and conflict in the archipelago are far from quiet, Jennings' article works to raise the point that while Indonesia may appear to be the stable democracy it wants to be, there are still fundamental problems in Indonesian society which need to be addressed before good relations can be built. The main issues Jennings sees as driving a wedge between Australia and Indonesia are that of Papuan independence and a perception of Canberra's wish to stop Papua being incorporated into Indonesia; the need to collaborate on the strategic level jihadist terrorist threat to prevent similar violent events as what occurred in 2002 and 2005 in Bali; and thirdly, cooperation on the 'boatpeople' issue. These three issues are all to do with mutual perception and the need for closer interaction, but do not scrape the surface of the socio-political issues that cause conflict in Indonesia.
Prime Minister Abbott has announced his intent to focus on the development of strong economic and business relations with Indonesia as a consequence of believing Australia has historically underinvested in building and maintaining close ties. Calls for strong business, economic and defence links will only scrape the surface of relationship issues between Australia and Indonesia; what is needed is a deep and honest ambition to understand one another as neighbours and not just work-mates. Such an understanding needs to be garnered at a levels across the socio-political spectrum so that Australians and the broader international community alike have access to the ground truth of the environment breaching language, cultural and religious barriers to address the underlying issues, rather than focusing on the tip of the iceberg at the policy level. A deeper understanding of Indonesian society and its issues is critical because these factors make up the rest of the iceberg that inevitably sinks the ship of harmonious inter-governmental interaction.

1. Jennings, P., (2013), "Why we need deeper ties with Indonesia", The Australian, accessed online on 16 May 14 at http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/opinion/why-we-need-deeper-ties-with-indonesia/story-e6frgd0x-1226730270637#