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Salam sejahtera,
Para Netters yth, artikel ini secara khusus dikirimkan oleh
Goerge J. Aditjondro untuk Eskol Net. Semoga bermanfaat.
Salam,
Eskol Net
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"The Political Economy of Violence in Maluku, Indonesia"
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****** By George J. Aditjondro ******
FOR more than a year now, the people of the Maluku islands have been
embroiled in a "civil war" between Muslims and Christians. Fatalities have
been in the thousands, a high percentage of the population of 2 million.
The chain of sectarian conflict in Maluku has been triggered and fed by
provocators paid by the Suharto family and his cronies. This has been
alleged by a Moluccan sociologist, Dr. Thamrin Amal Tomagola, a professor
at the University of Indonesia, two human rights organizations, KONTRAS
(Commission for Missing People & Victims of Violence Acts) and Komnas HAM
(Indonesian Human Rights Commission), and reports published on the internet
by members of the Indonesian independent journalists association, AJI.
The two most prominent provocators are Yorris Raweyai and Brigadier General
Kivlan Zein. Yorris Raweyai is the deputy chair of the Pancasila Youth and
is close to Bambang Trihatmodjo, Suharto's second son. While Brigadier
General Kivlan Zein has allegedly taken over the role of Ex Lieutenant
General Prabowo Subianto, former President Suharto's son-in-law, in
directing a group of vigilantes consisting of drop-outs from the Indonesian
Military Academy and martial art practitioners from West Java recruited and
trained by the Indonesian army's special forces, Kopassus, when this elite
force was still commanded by Prabowo. Because the military academy is
located near Mount Tidar, Central Java, these 'private soldiers' are
called the "Tidar Boys".
Ambon gangs
---------------
In Ambon itself, the Java-based provocators incited local Christian and
Muslim gangs of young delinquents to spark conflict. These gangs in turn
have their respective Jakarta connections.
The gang of Christian delinquents is named Cowok Keren (Handsome Boys),
shortened Coker, and is based at in the Kudamati neighbourhood. In Jakarta,
they are connected to two Christian Moluccan youths, Milton Matuanakota
and Ongky Pieters. This Jakarta gang of Christian Moluccan youths dominate
the shopping centre, parking area and gambling dens in West Jakarta. After
the Ketapang incidents in Jakarta, November 1998, where four of Ambonese
young men died, hundreds of Milton and Ongky's followers moved to Ambon.
In Jakarta, antagonists of the Milton and Ongky group are represented by
Ongen Sangaji, a Pancasila Youth activist and coordinator of a Moluccan
Muslim university student organization. Many members of this group were
recruited into the PAM Swakarsa (civilian security troops) used by then
Chief of Armed Forces, General Wiranto to cordon off the Senayan parliament
building from university students protesting the Extraordinary Session of
the MPR in November l998.
Ongen is reported to have close ties to Bambang Trihatmodjo, while Milton
is said to be closer to Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, aka Tutut. Other reports
state that Ongen, whose task was to recruit Moluccan delinquents into the
PAM Swakarsa during the MPR extra-ordinary session, received funds from
Tutut and a retired army general close to the Suharto family, Abdul Gafur,
who hails from North Maluku. Unfortunately for them, four of Ongen's
Moluccan young men died in the battle between the students and the
vigilantes, beated up by local Jakartan villagers who supported the
students' protests.
Tutut and Gafur's foundation, Yayasan Kesejahteraan Masyarakat Indonesia
(YAKMI), mobilized about 10,000 PAM Swakarsa troops armed with sharp bamboo
spears to fight against the unarmed students near the Semanggi bridge near
Senayan. Those vigilantes were first trained in military discipline and
skills by at the Jakarta military headquarters, Rindam Jaya, and were
consequently further trained by the 'Tidar Boys'. Ten YAKMI vigilantes who
hailed from Cianjur, West Java, were allegedly arrested in Ambon for their
involvement in the unrest.
Military links:
----------------
The bloody conflict in Maluku also involve active military personnel, whose
network can be traced back to generals closely linked to former Minister of
Defense andArmed Forces Commander General Wiranto, who has recently been
sacked from his cabinet post by President Wahid.
On 15 January, three members of the armed forces were apprehended in a raid
to impose the curfew in Ambon. One of them was a member of Kopassus, and
two police. Earlier in December l999, after the President and Vice
President's visit to Ambon, the military commander sent 500 troops to the
area. Upon arrival only some 200 troops reached the barracks, while 300 of
those who were sent on the same ship disappeared with their weapons.
Where did they go? It turned out that they had disappeared into the
civilian population. Not long after, the "massacres" erupted in late
December l999. Indications that the massacres were triggered by the troops
who disappeared from the harbour include the discovery of precisely the
same type of weapons as those owned by the 200 troops still on duty in the
hands of civilians. This incident has been reported to the Commander of the
Armed Forces but is still kept a secret.
That was just the tip of the iceberg. During the first months of the
conflict, last year, army troops from the Wirabuana command in Makassar,
Sulawesi, and fromKostrad (Army Strategic Command) were sent to Ambon.
These soldiers, who are mostly Muslims openly sided with their Moluccan
co-religionists and simply watched when the old symbolic Silo church in
Ambon was attacked and burned. The Wirabuana commander at that time,
General Suaidi Marasabessy as well as the Kostrad commander, General Djadja
Suparman, are known to be close to General Wiranto, who is being
investigated for his role in the East Timor mayhem.
On the other hand, the police's special forces, Brimob, who are mostly
Christian Moluccans, openly sided with the Christians. And whenever there
was a temporary peace during the conflict, military snipers continued
creating victims at both sides of the religious divide to reignite the
conflict.
The military have certainly benefitted from the conflict. On the macro
level, it helped those in the top military hierarchy who wanted to maintain
the territorial system of the military, since 17,000 troops are currently
stationed in Maluku. Using the conflict as an excuse, the Pattimura command
in Ambon, which had already been abolished during the Suharto era, has now
been revived.
On the grassroots level, local army commanders and their troops have also
benefitted. Eyewitness reports mentioned soldiers taking part in looting
half-burned stores and stockpiling the spoils at their headquarters. While
residents fleeing to the Ambon airport were charged Rp 0.5 million per
person to be guarded by the soldiers.
Who has funded these provocator operationals? Apart from the Suharto family
who funded the 'Tidar Boys' and the YAKMI vigilantes, the 'Maluku
operation' is allegedly also funded by two Suharto cronies with business
interests in Maluku, i.e. Eka Cipta Widjaja and Prajogo Pangestu.
Indeed, the Eka Tjipta Widjaja family is the owner of the Sinar Mas group,
which owns a banana plantation of some 2,000 hectares in Halmahera, in a
joint venture with the US fruit giant, Del Monte. This plantation is headed
by Ret. General Yoga Sugama, a relative and business partner of the Suharto
family who formerly headed the Indonesian Intelligence Agency, BAKIN.
Prajogo Pangestu, meanwhile, is owner of the Barito Pacific group, in which
two Suharto children, a Suharto son-in-law and two younger brothers of the
late Mrs. Tien Suharto have shares or positions. This group owns the
largest number of forest license in Indonesia (52 areas) for a total of
more than 5 million hectares.
Prajogo is also noteworthy as one of the largest contributors to theSuharto
clique. In l990 Indoverbank NV in the Netherlands received US$ 225 million
in the name of three foundations chaired by Suharto, transferred from
Prajogo's account at the Singapore Branch of Citibank and BDN, Jakarta.
Prajogo Pangestu's "treasury" in Maluku is enormous, as Barito Pacific
controls ten timber concessions covering nearly one million hectares of
forests in Maluku which feed the group's several plywood factories. Some of
these companies are joint ventures with charities owned by the armed forces
as well as with a private business group owned by a crony of former
President B.J. Habibie.
The Suharto clique and the group of generals who are against the reform
initiatives of President Abdurrahman Wahid have yet another source of funds
in Maluku. Tommy Winata, a close friend of Yorris Raweyai is a shareholder
in the PT Ting Sheen Bandasejahtera. This fishing company has invested
US$200 million to catch 2.5 million tonnes of fish per year in the Banda
Sea. It is a joint venture with Bambang Trihatmodjo and a Taiwanese
company.
There is a possibility that Tommy Winata too has contributed to the
activities of provocators in Maluku, especially in Southeastern Maluku.
This is in view of the fact that the religious conflicts in Maluku began
on 15-17 January 1999 in Dobo (the Aru Islands), by 31 March 1999 had
revisited Southeastern Maluku, in the city of Tual (Lesser Kei islands) and
by 6 April 1999 had spread to the Greater Kei islands.
It is clear that the conflict in Maluku is in fact an effect of political
struggles in Jakarta. Disgrunted generals who feel that the Army's powers
have been curtailed with the appointment of the newCommander in Chief from
the Navy, Admiral Widodo Adi Sutjipto, are trying to show that the new
Chief is incapable of controlling the situation in Maluku. This group is
trying to demonstrate that the Armed Forces -- specifically the Army -- are
still needed as the peacemakers in the midst of a civil society prone to
conflict.
In addition, certain Muslim groups, who feel they have not been given an
appropriate share in the Wahid and Megawati government and feel that Wahid
has given too many concessions to the Chinese and Christian minority are
using the Maluku unrest to call for a holy war (jihad) to bring down the
administration of the liberal cleric and secular nationalist.
Finally, behind all this, the one who stands to gain the most from the
political instability is Suharto and his family and cronies since the
political troubles hinder serious efforts to bring them to court to account
for their political and economic crimes.
They clearly benefit from the disturbances that serve to perpetuate the
Armed Forces' dual function, especially as the Armed Forces, through
scores of foundations and pensioned officers are deeply enmeshed in the
tentacles of the Suharto
family business.
(Newcastle, 25 February 2000)
"Sebab segala sesuatu adalah dari Dia, dan oleh Dia, dan kepada Dia:
Bagi Dialah kemuliaan sampai selama-lamanya!" (Roma 11:36)
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