Indonesia: SE Asia's Next Balkans?
Will Indonesia still be there in five years? There are reasons to doubt it.
East Timor, annexed by Indonesia in 1976, is in the process now of becoming an independent nation. Many Indonesians and students of the region worry about a possible domino effect. Unrest in East Timor was due in part to the fact that the Timorese are predominately Roman Catholics in a Muslim country. While their situation was politically unique, there are a variety of other areas in Indonesia where Christians could look to Timor's successful independence drive as encouragement to start their own separatist movement. Groups that immediately come to mind include:
- The Bataks of North Sumatra
- The Toraja of Central Sulawesi
- Christian communities in the Maluku Islands, especially on Ambon
Ambon in particular has been the scene of recent strife. Perhaps as many as 500 to 1000 people are dead as a result of fighting between Christians and Muslims there this year; as many as 100,000 may be homeless and some relief agencies are predicting famine in the Maluku Islands as a result of the conflict.
Conflict in the region has gotten so bad that a joint press release was issued on September 22, 1999, by Protestant and Catholic Church leaders in Indonesia. The open letter calls on the Indonesian President and military to publicly identify those responsible for sectarian violence in the Maluku Islands.
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