Local conflict transformation and reconciliation in Indonesia

Resumen

After the fall of Suharto’s authoritarian regime in 1998, Indonesia experienced severe and intractable conflicts resulting in thousands of casualties, primarily civilians. While fighting and civil unrest emerged in many parts of Indonesia, in three areas such conflicts proved more prone to escalation into bloody violence, due to the clashes being fueled by political, ethnic, and religious tensions and grievances. These areas include: 1) the province of Aceh, where the issue of separatism resulted in numerous deaths, estimated to be over 1,000 victims; 2) Sampit in Central Kalimantan, where more than 500 people from both Dayak and Madurese ethnic groups lost their lives in what have been labeled as ethnic clashes; and 3) Ambon in the Maluku Islands, where religious conflict culminated in more than 1,000 deaths of both Muslims and Christians. This research aims to document and examine local forms of conflict transformation and reconciliation in Indonesia. The research found that local values and local actors played a significant role in transforming the conflict in Ambon, Sampit, and Aceh. In the case of Ambon, local values are firmly in place and local actors use all their creative potential to craft peace. Beginning with pela and gandong, the relationship between villages which is ancestor-andagreement- based, the people of Ambon have strived to regain their previous condition: one in which people did not see religion as a barrier to interacting extensively with each other. In the case of Sampit, the Dayak local people conducted an assembly which was responded to with a Madurese local people’s assembly in the refugee camp. Intense efforts and points of contact have been made between the Dayak and Madurese to find ways to live together again peacefully. Finally, the government of Indonesia was able to make peace in Aceh by involving the local people and valuing Aceh local traditions. The mission that was carried out by the Indonesian government was described by Jusuf Kalla as ‘conflict resolution with dignity for all’ (both for the Indonesian government and Gerakan Aceh Merdeka or Free Aceh Movement – GAM)