Indonesia's troubles echo 1920s European experience
By Julian Lee The recent spate of violence in Indonesia is indicative of a turbulent transition to democracy - similar to that experienced by Europe earlier this century, an ANU Indonesian specialist said. Unlike the periods of turmoil in 1965 and 1974, Indonesia now has the conditions necessary for mass politics - mass education, urbanisation, middle and upper-classes, and mass-media, Professor Anthony Reid, of the Division on Pacific and Asian History in RSPAS, said. The dramatic growth of the Indonesian economy, followed by the recent crash, gives rise to analogies with the events leading to the European Depression of the 1930s, Prof Reid said. "It is interesting that in Asia the costs in becoming a democracy, such as civil strife and the two World Wars, are forgotten or thought to be uniquely European," he said. There are differences, however, which Prof Reid believes make the Indonesian situation especially dangerous. In particular, the authoritarian culture which suppresses discussion of minority tensions, threatens to create an "abyss of misery and hatred". "No compensation has been given or legal action taken after the looting of Chinese businesses or the burning of Christian churches - the rule of law is not being observed," he said. Most Indonesian informants believe violence against Chinese and Christian minorities is due less to resentment of their perceived domination of the economy, than to manipulation by military factions in the growing power struggle. European precedents can help explain why a better-educated, homogenised Indonesian population could lead to the kind of nationalism directed against minorities - rather than to an increase in tolerance for which the Javanese have long been famous, Prof Reid said. Having recently returned from a visit to Indonesia, Prof Reid gave some possible explanations at a recent public lecture in the ANU-ASIA "Indonesia in Crisis" lecture series. He suggested that the young were resentful of the negative side of rapid economic growth - corruption, inequality, and materialism - as well as the refusal of the regime to countenance political change. Since the financial crisis last November, unemployment has risen and the International Monetary Fund reforms have raised the price of basic commodities to an alarming degree, Prof Reid said. He said that there was also a belief in Indonesia that the military was taking advantage of the situation by refraining from action until major damage was done. He suggested this may have been a cynical move to remind people of the need for the military, or part of a military power struggle. Whatever the motivation, this crisis was a testing time for Indonesian political institutions and he believed the worst effects were still to come - when companies' and individuals' savings were depleted - prompting collapse in the economy. "Major political change often occurs several years down the track. It takes a while for pressures to really build up and alternative forces to be mobilised," Prof Reid said. He said that all was not lost, however, while in Jakarta Prof Reid witnessed a remarkable turnaround initiated by the student movement. The officially sanctioned campus-wide student associations were instrumental in unifying students of different ethnicity and religion against Soeharto. While this "people power" movement indicated some hope for the future, Prof Reid was pessimistic following renewed violence last week which confirmed that "darker forces" could take advantage of anger in the population for their own purposes.